CALIFORNIA 
MISSIONS 
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CALIFORNIA 
MISSIONS AND LANDMARKS 
EL C A M I N~5 R E A L 



Copyrighted by 

MRS. A. S. C. FORBES 
■ 1975 




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By 

Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes 

Author of Mission Tales in the Days of the Dons 
/ L L V S T R A T E I) 



Third Edition Revised 



Los Angeles, California. Nineteen Hundred and Fifteen 



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Fair California, with her Missions old, 

Her tales bewitching, and her days of gold. 

Her brown-robed padres of the distant past, 
Would that the glory of that age might last. 
Anna I. Dempsey. 




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INTRODUCTION 



The chain of Franciscan missions, Father Serra's 
rosary, is an heirloom left to us by Spain. The precious 
legacy was linked together by a ribbon of a roadway 
called El Camino Real. 

There were twenty-one missions, three pueblos, four 
presidios and seven hundred miles of roadway. The 
history and description of these missions, pueblos and 
presidios, together with landmarks connected with 
them or near by them, and El Camino Real, is the sub- 
ject of this book. 

In presenting this, the third edition, I have revised 
the former work and endeavored to present the pres- 
ent condition of the missions and the road that joins 
them. In the first edition, printed in 1903, I was 
greatly assisted in my research by the Most Reverend 
Archbishop George Montgomery. The gracious letter 
of his assistance is given that it may further help to 
arouse interest in the work of preserving the missions 
through the information given in this book. 

THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS 



Introduction — Page 

Letter from Most Rev. Archbishop George Montgomery 6 

Maps of the Missions 12-13 

Abila House 1 13 

Bear Flag Monument 243 

Bells of El Camino Real 275 

Cahuenga Chapel 102 

California, discovery and name 15 

Casa Grande 247 

Castillo de San Joaquin 229 

Colton Hall 194 

Custom House 192 

Development of the Missions 25 

El Camino Real 259 

El Camino Real Association of California 268 

El Molino Viejo 96 

El Ranchito , 116 

Eviction of Warner Ranch Indians 68 

Fort Moore 114 

Fort Ross 249 

Grapevine at San Gabriel 94 

Landmarks, Old Town, San Diego 53 

Marshall Monument 254 

Mills College 233 

Mission La Purisima Concepcion 150 

Mission Nuestra Sefiora de la Soledad 165 

Mission San Antonio de Padua 161 

Mission San Buenaventura 129 

Mission San Carlos Borromeo (Monterey) 175-180 

Mission San Diego de Alcala ~ 35 

Mission San Fernando Rey de Espafia .. 125 

Mission San Francisco de Asis 225 

Mission San Francisco Solano 239 

Mission San Gabriel Arcangel 86 

Mission San Jose 215 

Mission San Juan Bautista 167 

Mission San Juan Capistrano , 79 



CONTENTS— Continued 

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa 152 

Mission San Luis Rey de Francia 57 

Mission San Miguel Arcangel 157 

Mission San Rafael Arcangel 237 

Mission Santa Barbara 134 

Mission Santa Clara 206 

Mission Santa Cruz 202 

Mission Santa Inez virgin y martyr 146 

Monterey 175 

Old Chapel, San Diego 55 

Old Theater, Monterey 199 

Pala, asistencia of San Luis Rey 65 

Pious Fund 29 

Presidio Hill 56 

Presidio of Monterey 188 

Presidio of San Francisco 219 

Presidio of Santa Barbara 138 

Pueblo San Jose de Guadalupe 210 

Pueblo of Los Angeles 104 

Pueblo of Brancifort 204 

Ramona's Marriage Place 53 

San Bernardino, asistencia of San Gabriel 99 

San Carlos Church, Monterey 189 

San Diego 48 

San Francisco and Presidio 219 

Santa Barbara 141 

Santa Isabel, asistencia of San Luis Rey 77 

Secularization of the Missions 28 

Settlement of California 19 

Sherman Rose Tree, Monterey 200 

SJoat Monument 196 

Sutter's Fort 251 

Tears for the Portsmouth 232 

Venice 119 




ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Rev. Fr. Junipero Serra Frontispiece 

Letter from Most Rev. Archbishop George Montgomery 6 

Maps of the Missions 12-13 

Bear Flag 245 

Bear Flag Monument 242 

Bells of El Camino Real :.... .' 274 

Cabrillo, cafe ship, Venice 119 

Casa Grande 246 

Castillo de San Joaquin 229 

Colton Hall 193 

Custom House 174 

El Campanil, Mills College 235 

El Ranchito 1 18 

Forbes, A. S. C 268 

First Bell erected on El Camino Real 276 

Fort Ross ;. 248 

Grapevine at San Gabriel 95 

Johnson, J. A 143 

Kinney, Abbot ..'. 122 

Los Angeles, map 1786 108 

Marshall Monument 251 

Mills College 233 

Mission Bell guide-post 260 

Mission La Purisima Concepcion 156 

Mission Nuestra Sehora de la Soledad 165 

Mission San Antonio de Padua 156 

Mission San Buenaventura 128 

Mission San Carlos Borromeo (Monterey) 174 

Mission San Diego de Alcala 34, 35 

Mission San Fernando Rey de Espaiia 124, 127 

Mission San Francisco de Asis 214, 221 

Mission San Francisco Solano 214 

Mission San Gabriel Arcangel 85, 136 

Mission San Jose 214 

Mission San Juan Bautista 167 



ILLUSTRATIONS— Continued 



Mission San Juan Capistrano 4, 78, 80 

Mission San Luis Obispo 152, 154 

Mission San Luis Rey de Francia 57 

Mission San Miguel Arcangel 156 

Mission San Rafael Arcangel 237 

Mission Santa Barbara 128-135 

Mission Santa Clara 206 

Mission Santa Cruz 202 

Mission Santa Inez virgin y martyr 146 

Our Lady of the Angeles, Los Angeles 104 

Pala 65, 67 

Peyri, Fr. Antonio 59 

Portsmouth Square, 1854 231 

Portsmouth, U. S. S 232 

Presidio of San Francisco, 1850 223 

Presidio of San Francisco, 1915, Officers' Headquarters.... 218 

Presidio of San Francisco, plan 1792 222 

Presidio of Santa Barbara, plan 1788 138 

San Bernardino Chapel 99 

San Carlos Church, Monterey 174 

San Jose, Capitol 212 

San Jose, map 210 

San Luis Rey, statue at Pala 64 

San Luisita Parlor N. D. G. W 155 

Santa Clara College 209 

Santa Isabel Chapel 76 

Serra, Fr. Junipero, Monument at Monterey 201 

Sloat, John Drake, Rear-Admiral, l\ S. N 196 

Sloat Monument. Monterey 19S 

Sutter's Fort 251 

Venice, cafe ship Cabrillo 119 

Venice canal 123 














**•• 
















Map of Location of the Missions 




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Map of Location of the Missi 



MISSIONS IN ORDER OF THEIR DEDICATION 

Missions Founders Date 

San Diego de Alcala July 16, 1769 

Fr. Junipero Serra 
San Carlos Borromeo, Monterey June 3, 1770 

Fr. Junipero Serra 
San Antonio de Padua July 14, 1771 

Frs. Serra, Pieras and Sitiar 
San Gabriel Arcangel Sept. 8, 1771 

Frs. Somera and Cambon 
San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Sept. 1, 1772 

Fr. Junipero Serra 
San Francisco de Asis (Dolores) Oct. 9. 1776 

Frs. Palou, Cambon and Pefia 
San Juan Capistrano Nov. 1. 1776 

Fr. Junipero Serra 
Santa Clara Jan. 12. 1777 

Fr. Tomas de la Pefia 
San Buenaventura March 31, 1782 

Frs. Serra and Cambon 
Santa Barbara 6 Dec. 4. 1786 

Fr. Fermin Francisco Lasuen 
La Purisima Concepcion Dec. 8. 1787 

Fr. Fermin Francisco Lasuen 
Santa Cruz Sept. 25, 1791 

Frs. Salazar and Lopez 
Xuestra Senora de la Soledad Oct. 9, 1791 

Fr. Fermin Francisco Lasuen 
San Jose _ June 11. 1797 

Fr. Fermin Francisco Lasuen 
San Juan Bautista June 24. 1797 

Fr. Fermin Francisco Lasuen 
San Miguel Arcangel July 25. 1797 

Fr. Lasuen and Sitiar 
San Fernando Rey de Esparia -Sept. 8, 1797 

Fr. Lasuen and Dumetz 
San Luis Rey de Francia Tune 13. 1798 

Frs. Lasuen, Santiago and Peyri 
Santa Inez, virgin and martyr Sept. 17. 1804 

Frs. Tapis and Clones 
San Rafael Arcangel - Dec. 14. 1817 

Fr. Vicente Sarria 
San Francisco Solano. Sonoma July 4, 1823 

Fr. Jose Altimira 



CALIFORNIA 

The Discovery and Name 

California was discovered in 1542 by Don Juan 
Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese navigator in the em- 
ploy of Spain. He was entrusted with two vessels, the 
San Salvador and La Vitoria. His pilot was Don Bar- 
tolome Ferrelo. They sailed from the port of Navidad. 
Mexico, on the 27th of June, 1542, and arrived in San 
Diego Bay three months later. They entered the bay 
on the evening of the 28th of September, the vigil of 
Saint Michael the Archangel, and therefore Cabrillo 
named it San Miguel, a name which it retained for more 
than sixty years, or until Don Sebastian Vizcaino came 
in 1602 and changed it to San Diego. 

Cabrillo remained in the bay five days and then 
proceeded on his way north, stopping at San Buena- 
ventura on the 10th of October. He named this port 
Las Canoas. On the 13th he was in the channel of 
Santa Barbara but was unable to land. On the 17th 
he passed Point Concepcion, which he called Cabo de la 
Galera. On the 18th the two ships took refuge under 
the lee of an island which Cabrillo named San Miguel. 
They remained here until the 25th, when they pro- 
ceeded on their journey despite the fact that Cabrillo 
had received a serious injury from a fall whereby his 
arm was broken near the shoulder and the bone badly 
fractured. 

For two weeks thev were buffeted about bv storms 



16 THE DISCOVERY 

and winds but by November 11th they were able to 
keep a course near the shore and make further discov- 
eries and investigations. They sighted the lofty Sier- 
ras and named the part of the range that now bears 
the name of Santa Lucia — San Martin. Few places 
have retained the name given by Cabrillo. The ships 
doubled Punta de Pinos and Cabrillo named it after the 
pine trees that cover the point and mark the approach 
to Monterey. Cabrillo attempted a landing, but the 
rough sea made it impossible. On Tuesday, the 14th 
of November, he saw the rocky elevation of Fort Ross 
and named it El Cabo de Pinos because of the splendid 
Douglas fir trees that come boldly down to the sea and 
are today a distinguishing landmark to navigators. 
Cold rains and continued rough seas determined 
Cabrillo to return and winter on the island of San 
Miguel. On the return trip he discovered the Gulf of 
the Farallones and named it La Bahia de los Pinos. The 
ships passed through the Gulf on Thursday, November 
16th, 1542. Within a few days they were in Port 
Posesion of San Miguel Island, where they remained 
until after the first of the year. On January 3rd, 1543, 
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the discoverer of California, 
died from the effects of the injury received in October 
when the fleet took refuge on this island from the 
storm. He was laid to rest in the sands near the sea 
in a lonely grave in this distant land. All trace of his 
sandy sepulcher had been effaced by the time that the 
island was again visited by explorers, and therefore 
the discoverer of California sleeps in an unmarked 
and unknown grave — to the lasting regret of all who 
love California. 

Cabrillo's parting counsel to his pilot was that he 



NAME 17 

continue the expedition as soon as the weather would 
permit. This order was fulfilled, and Don Bartolome 
Ferrelo set sail from San Miguel Island on the 18th of 
February, 1543, and guided the ships as far north as 
the prominent point of Cape Mendocino, which the his- 
torian Miguel Venegas says he named in honor of the 
Viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza, under whom he 
was serving. They reached this point on the 28th of 
February, but storms and heavy fogs compelled them 
to retrace their course. The ships became separated 
near San Clemente Island. Ferrelo ran the San Salva- 
dor into the harbor of San Diego, where he awaited the 
consort ship, but it failed to make that port. On 
March 26th both ships met at the Island of Cedros and 
together they reached Navidad on April 14th, 1543, 
after an absence of nine months and fifteen days. They 
brought the sad intelligence of the death of their 
brave commander, Don Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, but 
they brought also the important news of the discov- 
ery of vast territory — that which is today the State of 
California. 

The name of California was first applied to the 
locality round about Bahia de la Paz in Lower Cali- 
fornia when the expedition under Don Hernando Cor- 
tez made an effort in 1535 to found a settlement on the 
peninsula, which at that time was supposed to be an 
island. The district was referred to as "California" by 
Bernal Diaz de Castillo, an officer under Cort.ez and 
the historian of the expedition. Diaz was undoubtedly 
familiar with the novel entitled, "Las Sergas de 
Esplandian," written by Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo 
which had been published in Seville, Spain, in 1510, 
and in which a mythical island lying on the right hand 



18 NAME 

of the Indies was called "California." The word oc- 
curs several times in the book, the first time the para- 
graph reads as follows: "Know," the Sergas says, 
"rhat on the right hand of the Indies there is an island 
called California, very close to the side of the Ter- 
restial Paradise ; and it was peopled by black women, 
without any man among them, for they lived in the 
fashion of the Amazons. They were of strong and 
hardy bodies, of ardent courage and great force. Their 
island was the strongest in all the world, with its steep 
cliffs and rock shores. Their arms were of gold, and 
so were the harness of the wild beasts they tamed to 
ride; for in the whole island there was no metal but 
gold.'' Again the romancist says, "In the island called 
California are many griffins/' and he calls the queen of 
the Amazons Califia. 

It was Dr. Edward Everett Hale who traced the 
origin of the name to the novel. Prior to 1862, at 
which time Dr. Hale's research brought him in touch 
with "Las Sergas de Esplandian,"' most writers had 
contented themselves with the speculation that the 
word California was derived from the two Latin words 
calida and fornax — hot furnace — while a few preferred 
to attribute the origin to chance and the belief that 
the discoverers had heard some Indian name that 
sounded like California. But this theory is certainly 
exploded by Miguel Venegas, a Mexican Jesuit, whose 
"History of California" was published at Madrid, 
Spain, in 1758. Regarding the name California, he 
says, "In none of the various dialects of the natives 
could the missionaries find the least trace of such a 
name being given to the country, or even to a harbor, 
bay, or small portion of it." 



SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 

The settlement of California was due to the com- 
bined influence of religious zeal on the part of the 
Franciscans and to the solicitous but rather belated 
care on the part of the Spanish King, Carlos III., for 
the protection of his vast empire bordering on the 
Pacific Coast. 

For more than two centuries that part of California 
lying north of San Diego, though well known to exist, 
had been left wholly unexplored and unoccupied by 
the country that claimed possession. But when rumors 
reached Carlos III. that Russia contemplated making 
settlements on the northwest he issued orders direct- 
ing an immediate occupation and fortification of Cali- 
fornia. This was in 1768. The previous year the king 
had expelled the Jesuits from all Spanish domain, the 
missionary work of Lower California had been placed 
with the Franciscans, and Father Junipero Serra had 
been appointed President of all the Missions. At the 
same time Don Caspar de Portola had been appointed 
Governor of California. These two men, together 
with Don Jose de Galvez, Yisitador-General of the 
kingdom and member of the Council of the Indies, 
made preparation for the expedition. It was to con- 
sist of four divisions — two by land and two by sea. In 
course of preparation Galvez issued a circular naming 
the Holy Patriarch Saint Joseph as patron of the ex- 
pedition, as the most Holy Mary of Loreto was pa- 
troness of the missions of California. 



20 SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 

On January 6th, 1769, the packet-boat San Carlos 
which had been built in San Bias was ready to sail 
from the port of La Paz, Lower California. It was 
placed in command of Captain Vincente Vila, lieuten- 
ant of the royal navy of Spain. Accompanying him 
were Don Pedro Fages and his command of twenty- 
five Catalan soldiers ; Alfred Miguel Constanso, from 
whose diary of the journey we learn the particulars ; 
Surgeon Prat, Father Fernando Parron and thirty-one 
men. The ships company numbered sixty-two in all. 
Captain Vila was instructed to proceed to San Diego 
and wait there for twenty days for the ship San An- 
tonio. If by that time the sister ship had not appeared, 
the San Carlos was to make its way to Monterey. 

Father Serra sung a high mass on board the vessel in 
honor of the patron saint, the litany of Our Lady of 
Loreto was chanted, Galvez addressed the officers and 
crew, then Father Serra pronounced the solemn bless- 
ing upon the vessel, the flag, the officers, the soldiers, 
the crew, and everybody and everything present. Sev- 
eral days were consumed in final preparations, and all 
embarked on the night of the 9th. On the 10th of 
January, 1769, the vessel sailed and the project to 
colonize and civilize California through the mission 
system was virtually begun. 

On the 15th of February the San Antonio, a packet- 
boat, also built in San Bias for missionary work, was 
ready to sail. Similar services were performed by 
Father Serra as when the San Carlos left port, and the 
vessel under the command of Captain Juan Perez put 
to sea with a company of ninety persons, among them 
Father Juan Vizcaino and Father Francisco Gomez, 
both Franciscan missionaries. Captain Perez received 



SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 21 

instructions like those given to Captain Vila regarding 
the meeting at San Diego. The supply ship, the San 
J ose, was next to leave port ; but is was lost at sea. 
The cargo that the San Carlos carried gives an inter- 
esting idea of the supplies that were sent to a new 
district. The following is a portion : "10,000 pounds of 
dried meat, eight casks of wine, two casks of brandy, 
1,250 pounds of figs, quantities of beans, raisins, fish, 
clothing for the Indians, church vestments, church 
bells, and other necessary articles." 

The first division of the land expedition begun the 
journey September 30th, 1768. It was under the com- 
mand of Captain Rivera y Moncada, who had been 
commander of the Presidio of Loreto. He was accom- 
panied by Father Juan Crespi, and had a company of 
forty-three men. His instructions were to explore 
the country ahead, and to visit the missions and collect 
such horses and mules as he needed and such provisions 
as the missionaries could spare. He received explicit 
orders to take along from the last mission, Santa 
Maria, two hundred head of cattle. It was not until 
March 24th, 1769, that Captain Rivera left Velicata, 
the last settlement in Lower California, and began the 
final lap of the journey to San Diego, which port he 
reached safely on May 14th and found the two packet- 
boats at anchor. 

The second division of land travelers, forty-four in 
number, was conducted by Governor Don Gaspar de 
Portola. With him was to have marched the Presi- 
dent of the Missions, Father Junipero Serra, but as 
Father Serra systematically visited all of the missions 
of Lower California, he did not really join Portola 
until thev all reached Velicata on May 14th, the dav 



22 SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 

that the first division arrived at San Diego. Father 
Serra founded the Mission of San Fernando at VeHcat'a 
and left Father Campa in charge. It was the only mis- 
sion founded in Lower California by the Franciscans. 
The journey on foot from one end of the peninsula to 
the other had proved to be a severe physical task for 
Father Serra, who was in his fifty-sixth year. On his 
arrival at Velicata he was suffering intensely with a 
cnronic sore on his leg, an affliction which he had con- 
tracted on the first journey made through Mexico, 
which was from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico. It is 
generally conceded and believed that he was bitten by 
some insect or reptile on that journey and that the 
injury never healed. It is known that on this march 
from Velicata to San Diego the trouble had become an 
ulcerous tumor, and his leg was so badly swollen that 
he could scarcely walk. Yet in his religious zeal and 
determination he refused to be carried on a litter and 
likewise refused to remain behind. All were at the end 
of their wits to know what to do, when Father Serra 
bethought to call a mule driver, Juan Antonio Coronel, 
and asked him if he could not give him some remedy 
for his swollen leg. The driver replied, "What remedy 
can I know, Father? I am not a surgeon. I am only a 
mule driver and can only cure the wounds of my 
beasts." 

"Very well ; imagine that I am one of those animals, 
and that this is one of their wounds — apply the same 
remedy,'' said the humble Serra. 

"I will do so, Father, to please you/' said the boy, 
and taking some suet he mixed it with a healing herb 
and made a salve or poultice in which he swathed the 



SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 23 

inflamed leg. By morning good Father Serra was able 
to rise and recite early matins and offer up the holy 
sacrifice of the mass, and then proceed with the rest of 
the company on the journey. The party arrived in 
San Diego on July 1st, 1769, the last of the four 
divisions to reach the camp. 

Extracts from Father Serra's letter to his friend 
Father Palou, give the best account of the conditions as 
he found them. He says: "On the first of July we 
arrived at the beautiful port of San Diego. Fathers 
Crespi, Vizcaino, Parron, Gomez and your humble 
servant are in good health — thanks be to God. The 
two ships are here, the San Carlos totally without a 
crew, all having died of scurvy except one sailor and 
the cook. The San Antonio was the first to arrive. 
Albeit she sailed forty days later than the San Carlos, 
she arrived twenty days ahead of her. The main cause 
of the delay of the San Carlos was due to leaky con- 
dition of her water casks, which necessitated her 
touching land for a supply of fresh water. The water 
thus secured was impure and caused the sickness 
aboard. Another cause of delay was the mistaken 
idea that San Diego lay in latitude 33° or 34° north, 
when it is but 32° 34' ; therefore the San Carlos sailed 
beyond this port and was compelled to return. So 
feeble and helpless were all on board that they were 
unable to lower the boats when they entered the bay." 
He speaks of the good health of the land party; of the 
fertility of the soil of the extreme northern part of the 
peninsula; of the wild game and of the numbers of 
Indians. He notes their docility, and dress, and has 
only praise for it all. 

Hie expedition continued the settlement of the new 



24 SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 

country by immediately undertaking an overland jour- 
ney in search of the port of Monterey, as described by 
Vizcaino. The party was under personal command of 
Governor Portola, who was accompanied by Father 
Juan Crespi, Sergeant Ortega, and some sixty soldiers, 
servants, and guides — in fact, he took all persons who 
were able to travel after a rest of two weeks. The}' 
left San Diego July 14th. Two days later, on Jul}' 
16th, Father Serra began preparations for the founding 
of the first mission in Upper California. This da}' was 
considered as one most auspicious, as it is the day 
upon which the Catholic Church of Spain commem- 
orates the triumph of the Cross over the Crescent in 
1212. Also it is the feast day of Our Lady of Mount 
Carmel, whose protection it was but proper to invoke 
for the expedition now on its way through unknown 
country and among unknown people. A few huts had 
been erected at San Diego, and one of them was used 
as a chapel. Father Serra sang mass, erected a large 
cross and blessed it, and then performed the usual 
ceremonies for the tsablishment of a new mission. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE MISSIONS 

The first mission was established at Cosoy, now Old 
Town, San Diego, on July 16th, 1769; the next one was 
established at Monterey, June 3rd, 1770; then San An- 
tonio de Padua, July 14th, 1771, and San Gabriel, Sep- 
tember 8th, the same year. In this manner and in 
quick succession twenty-one missions were founded in 
less than half a century. They were well located and 
became prosperous establishments with a record of 
baptisms aggregating 88,876 souls. There were 63,281 
deaths during the same period, leaving an enrollment 
of 25,595 converts. These converts or neophytes lived 
at the missions. The Franciscan friars, who had charge 
of the missions, were able to solemnize 24,692 mar- 
riages. 

The wealth of the missions lay in the number of 
cattle, horses, sheep, goats and other live stock, to- 
gether with grain and general farm produce. Of cattle 
and horses there were 152,000 head; sheep, goats and 
other stock 191,693, making a total of 344,593 head of 
live stock. To this wealth was added hundreds of 
thousands of bushels of grain at the time of the in- 
ventory which was taken in 1832-34, in order to com- 
plete secularization when the missions were transferred 
to the control of the Mexican Government instead of 
the Catholic Church. With such wealth and pros- 
perity within grasp, no wonder that the cupidity of a 
nation like Mexico became excited and the missions 
confiscated. 



26 DEVELOPMENT OF THE MISSIONS 

The missions were located at irregular intervals from 
San Diego county in the south to Sonoma county in 
the north. The sites were always in valleys having 
fertile soil and plenty of good fresh water. They were 
about a day's journey apart and were joined by a well- 
defined and picturesque road known as El Camino 
Real, The Royal Road. Each mission establishment 
consisted of a chapel, dwellings for the padres, others 
for the neophytes, artisans, guards and servants. The 
chief buildings were either of stone or adobe, enclosed 
within a wall of the same which frequently was miles 
in extent. Generally one row of rooms or one separate 
building was provided for the young Indian girls and 
another for the boys. Most of the buildings within 
the wall opened upon a quadrangle or court. Here 
games, dancing and songs were indulged in by the 
Indians, Spaniards, Mexicans and other inhabitants cf 
this community home, the padres recognizing that in 
this manner they could win and keep the hearts of the 
free-born, non-care-wise people among whom they la- 
bored. The girls were under the charge of a trusted 
Indian matron, who taught them spinning, weaving 
and other domestic duties. The boys were instructed 
in agriculture, in the art of wood and leather carving, 
silver-work, shoemaking, blacksmithing, carpentering, 
and stone-cutting, and taught how to be self-support- 
ing and generally useful. Soldiers married to native 
women had separate houses. The population consisted 
of military officers and soldiers, friars and neophytes. 
The unconverted Indians lived in rancherias, or roamed 
about the country. At first, a few skilled mechanics, 
under government pay, were sent from Mexico to teach 
their trades to the neophytes and any white appren- 



MODE OV LIFE AT THE MISSIONS 27 

tices. About twenty such mechanics were sent be- 
tween the years 1792 and 1795. After 1795 the padres, 
instead of the state, paid the artisans for their instruc- 
tion to the Indians. 

Mode of Life at the Missions 
The regulations of the missions were simple but 
uniform. At daybreak the Angelus bell rang for pray- 
ers and Holy Mass, after which breakfast of ground 
barley (atole) was served. After breakfast all joined 
in some work until 11 or 12, when atole in different 
forms, together with mutton or beef was again pro- 
vided. Occasionally frijoles (beans) were given in- 
stead of atole. Milk was the diet of the sick and aged. 
After the noon meal all were allowed to rest until 2 
o'clock when labor was resumed until 5. During the 
summer the field laborers were furnished sweetened 
water with a little vinegar, which was considered a 
luxury. In the evening pinole, a particular dish made 
from atole, constituted their supper. The neophytes 
were permitted to gather and store nuts and wild ber- 
ries for their individual use. Food for the day was dis- 
tributed by the mavera to each individual or family, the 
young men taking theirs to the pozolera to be prepared, 
and the married men taking theirs to be eaten with 
their families. The dress of the men was a shirt, trous- 
ers and a blanket, though the alcaldes and chiefs of 
gangs of workmen generally wore the complete Span- 
ish costume. The women dressed as the Mexican 
peasantry do today, with skirt, bodice and shawl. The 
wealth of the missions lay in surplus grains and bread- 
stuffs, oil, hemp, wine, hides, tallow, vegetables, fruits 
and live-stock. The mission supplied the soldiers at 
the presidios with necessary articles of food. The In- 



28 SECULARIZATION 

dians in one mission were frequently from many dif- 
ferent tribes, but they lived together in perfect har- 
mony and the constant increase in number of converts 
proved that the management of the padres, both spir- 
itual and temporal, was successful, and the conditions 
were satisfactory to the Indians. 

Secularization 

The temporal prosperity of the missions in Upper 
California excited the cupidity of the crown, and a 
decree was passed in 1813 by the Spanish cortes con- 
fiscating the American mission property, but the de- 
cree was not confirmed for seven years, and then the 
enactment was delayed twelve years longer, at the end 
of which time an edict was issued by the Congress of 
Mexico (May 25, 1832), whereby "the executive was 
empowered to rent out all the mission property for a 
period of seven years, the proceeds to be paid into the 
national treasury." This was the consummation of 
what is known as the "secularization of the missions." 
The mission chapels were made into parish churches, 
and the padres asked to become parish priests. The 
Indians might obtain a small allotment of land upon 
which they were to become self-supporting. The im- 
possibility of reclaiming a whole nation from bar- 
barity in fifty years is evident, yet this is what the 
Spanish and Mexican officials expected the Franciscan 
friars to do in the case of the American Indians. They 
chose to consider the Indians as capable, in one genera- 
tion, of becoming self-supporting, self-reliant civilized 
citizens — an utter impossibility with any people. 
Jurisdiction over the mission buildings and over .the 
Indians was taken from the padres and vested in a 
comisionado, or agent, of the Mexican government. 



THE PIOUS FUND 29 

The Indians were turned adrift ; the houses and 
churches they had built, the orchards and vineyards 
they had planted, the herds and flocks they had 
tended were theirs no longer. Disappointed, discour- 
aged and disconsolate, the Indians returned to the 
mountains or roamed from rancheria to rancheria, be- 
reft of a guiding hand or a controlling interest. In 
less than a decade eleven of the grand buildings had 
been sold for debt, the herds decimated and the Indians 
for whom all this work had been done were gone. 
This was called secularization. The scheme was disas- 
trous and proved to be the total disintegration of the 
mission system. 

The Pious Fund 
The Spanish monarchs and the Catholic Church 
cherished the idea of colonizing and converting the 
Indian inhabitants of California, from the time that the 
first description of this part of the country was brought 
back to Spain by Cortez in 1540. The Spanish crown 
sent expeditions to these shores from time to time, but 
each returned unsuccessful. The Jesuits accompanied 
Admiral Pedro Portal de Casanate on his expedition 
in 1643; but even the combined efforts of church and 
state did not succeed, and the country remained as it 
was, uncolonized and unconverted. The last expedi- 
tion undertaken by the crown was in 1679, when Ad- 
miral Isidore Otondo was in command and Father 
Kino represented the church. This expedition cost the 
King, Charles II, $225,000, but was a failure. Then the 
Jesuits were invited to take entire charge of the work, 
with the assurance that Spain would pay the bills. The 
fathers declined, the excuse being that the conduct of 
the military officers retarded the work. However, in- 



30 ORIGIN OF THE PIOUS FUND 

dividual members of the Society of Jesus offered to 
undertake the entire work of reduction and conversion, 
without expense to the crown, the only stipulation 
being that they be permitted to select both the civil 
and the military officers to be employed. The agree- 
ment was accepted, and on February 5, 1697, neces- 
sary authority was given Father Juan Maria Salva- 
tierra and Francisco Eusebio Kino to undertake the 
enterprise. The conditions named were : 

First — Possession of the country was to be taken in 
the name of the Spanish crown. 

Second — The royal treasury was not to be called 
upon for any expenses whatsoever. 

Fathers Salvatierra and Kino solicited and received 
sums of money in trust from individuals and from re- 
ligious organizations to be used in the propagation of 
the Catholic religion in California. The money was to 
be spent in building churches and religious schools, 
and in paying the expense of founding missions, such 
as the Jesuit Order had instituted in Paraguay, India, 
Canada and Northern Mexico. The first contributors 
were Don Alonzo Davolos, Conde de Miravelles, Don 
Mateo Fernandez de la Cruz, and Marques de Buena 
Vista, each giving $1000. Others followed with cash 
contributions or notes until the amount aggregated 
$15,000. The use of a transport and a small launch for 
the first expedition was offered by Don Pedro Gil de la 
Sierpa, treasurer of Acapulco. 

The Origin of the Pious Fund 

A separate endowment fund for the missionary 
church was created. The first contributors for this 
were the congregation of the "Neustra Sefiora de los 
Dolores" of the City of Mexico, which gave $10,000; 



ORIGIN OF THE PIOUS FUND 31 



and Don Juan Caballero y Ozio, who gave $20, 
more. These contributions formed the nucleus of "The 
Pious Fund." Each new mission was to be placed 
on a monetary basis of $10,000. As the usual rate of 
interest was 5 per cent, the income was $500, and 
that sum was deemed sufficient for one church. Many 
zealous Christians left to the fund, from time to time, 
enormous sums of money. The Marques de Villa 
Puente and his wife, the Marquesa de las Torres 
de Rada, gave over $200,000 in money and vessels 
to the work of establishing missions in California, 
and at their death bequeathed their entire estate and 
immense fortune to the Pious Fund. The Duchess 
of Gardia provided in her will that the life annuities 
left to her servants should, as the life estates fell in, 
go to the missions of California. In 1767 (two years 
prior to the establishment of the first mission in Upper 
California, that of San Diego) the annuities had 
amounted to $60,000, with as much more to come in. 
Another vast estate was left by Dona Josepha Paula 
de Arguelles of Guadalaxara, to the missions of the 
Philippine Islands, and to California jointly. The 
sum of $240,000 was the proportion that fell to the 
Pious Fund. It was through the judicious investment 
and expenditure of these vast sums of money that the 
Fathers were enabled to build the grand mission 
buildings of California, and to pay the attending ex- 
penses of so great an enterprise. Fathers Kino and 
Salvatierra's work lay entirely within the boundary 
of Mexico and Lower California, or the Peninsula, 
and not within the boundaries of the present State of 
California. 



32 CONFISCATION OF THE PIOUS FUND 

In 1842 President Santa Anna of Mexico confis- 
cated the Pious Fund and incorporated it in the na- 
tional treasury. This was accomplished by a sale ol 
all properties, stocks, mines and negotiable papers 
comprising the Pious Fund, and paying the cash funds 
thus derived into the public treasury as a loan at 6 
per cent per annum upon the capital therein invested, 
thenceforth. The amounts aggregated over one mil- 
lion and a quarter dollars. Spain had frequently 
borrowed money of the Pious Fund and given in 
exchange "notes at hand," and when, in 1821, Mexico 
became independent of Spain, Mexico assumed the 
obligation of the public debt — or so much of it as 
belonged to the viceroyalty. The government of 
Mexico did not always pay the interest on the Fund; 
but instead continued in the footsteps of the mother 
country and borrowed sums of money from the church 
fund, religiously placing to its credit the "note at 
hand.'' Between the years of 1807 and 1831, the mis- 
sionaries of California received only $24,000 of inter- 
est on the Pious Fund. When Santa Anna absorbed 
the fund, affairs were in such a condition that the 
transaction created not a ripple in public sentiment ; 
not a mention was made of it. The Pious Fund at 
that time (1842) gave no returns. By the treaty of 
Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) entered into between the 
United States and Mexico, the latter cleverly inserted 
the clause that "all claims of the United States and 
its citizens against Mexico existing prior to the treaty 
are declared to be fully satisfied and extinguished;" no 
doubt hoping in this manner to evade any further 
payment of interest on the Pious Fund. In 1851 an 
effort was made to trace the Pious Fund, but so com- 



CONFISCATION OF THE PIOUS FUND 33 

pletely had it disappeared from the Mexican records 
that not a trace of indebtedness to the missions re- 
mained to give a clue. In 1853, Archbishop Alemany, 
Bishop of Monterey, brought to light a package of 
papers marked, "Instruccion Circumstanciada" of 
Don Pedro Ramires, which proved to be a copy of 
Santa Anna's decree, and other papers, giving a com- 
plete list of each piece of property of the Pious Fund 
that had been given over to Santa Anna. This evidence 
enabled the Catholic Church of California to enter 
claims against Santa Anna for unpaid interest on the 
Pious Fund, and the claim was granted, the church 
receiving over nine hundred thousand dollars. This 
seemed in exact opposition to the treaty of Guadalupe 
Hidalgo, but owing to the unjust and illegal confisca- 
tion of the Fund in 1842 by Santa Anna, a law was 
evidently made to suit the case. The more recent 
controversy as presented at The Hague tribunal, re- 
garding similar interest due on the Pious Fund, re- 
ceived the same verdict. Mexico must pay $1,420,682 
(Mexican money) and on the 2nd of February, 1903, 
and every year thereafter, the sum of $43,050.99 
(Mexican money) to the Catholic Church of Cali- 
fornia. If Mexico were to pay this sum annually, 
there would be ample funds for the propagation of 
the Catholic religion among the Indians of California, 
and there would be hopes of some repairs being made 
upon the decaying ruins of the mission buildings; 
but since Mexico has paid but $114,000 in 95 years 
there is little or no probability that she will begin 
now to pay her debts. 




VeMMm 





—Photo, A. S. C. Forbes 

MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA. 

Mission San Diego de Alcala is 7.9 miles from 
Fifth and D Streets, San Diego, or 5.9 miles from 
Old Town. Can be reached by automobile. The 
road is marked by El Camino Real Bell guide-posts 
which give distances and directions. 

Mission San Diego de Alcala (Saint James of Al- 
cala) was the first permanent settlement made within 
the present boundaries of the State of California. It 
was located at a place called Cosoy by the Indians, 
now Old Town, San Diego. The first buildings were 
erected on the hill about two gunshots from the shore 
and faced the entrance to the port at Point Guijarros. 
The mission was founded July 16th, 1769, by Fr. 
Junipero Serra, assisted by Fr. Juan Vizcaino and 
Fr. Fernando Parron. The ceremony was attended by 
all the able-bodied men at San Diego. They were 



26 MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 

Captain Vincente Vila, commander of the San Carlos, 
that lay idly in the bay for lack of sailors to make the 
return trip to Mexico; Doctor Pedro Pratt, Engineer 
Jose Canizares, eight soldiers, five convalescent Cata- 
lan volunteers, five seamen, a carpenter, a blacksmith, 
three servants and eight Lower California Indians. 
Two days prior to the founding of the mission, the 
Governor of California, Don Gaspar de Portola, ac- 
companied by Fr. Juan Crespi and sixty-four of the 
most able-bodied men of the California expedition, 
had departed in search of the port of Monterey and 
therefore were not present at the founding of the first 
mission in Upper California. 

The 16th of July was probably selected as the day 
on which the first mission should be founded because 
it is the date the Catholic Church in Spain com- 
memorates the triumph of the Cross over the Cres- 
cent in 1212. A temporary structure had been erected 
as a chapel, bells were swung from the branches of 
a tree, a cross was constructed and raised. On this 
day the bells were rung, Fr. Serra blessed the cross, 
sung high mass and gave a short address to the small 
company assembled. The mission was placed under 
the especial care of San Diego de Alcala, a man born 
of lowly parents in the town of St. Nicholas, in the 
diocese of Seville, in Andalusia, Spain, who by rea- 
son of his godly life and good works was canonized 
by Pope Sixtus V, in 1588. San Diego was a Capu- 
chin monk at the convent of Alcala in 1463. Many 
beautiful and interesting legends are told of his life, 
but the true history of his deeds is even more inter- 
esting than the legends. 

The first missionaries assigned to the new post at 



MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 37 

San Diego, California, were Fr. Serra and Fr. Parron. 
A few huts were erected, one of which was used as a 
chapel. The Indians were unfriendly but not hostile. 
No one understood their language, therefore progress 
was slow, amounting to little beyond trying to gain 
their good will. The Indians refused all food, but 
accepted trinkets for adornment and articles of cloth- 
ing. That they refused food proved to be a blessing 
to the colonists, because the supply ship, San Jose, 
was lost at sea and no other food beyond what they 
had brought with them reached San Diego until late 
in March the following year. The Indians appropri- 
ated every article of clothing within their reach. 
They even crept into the tents of the sick and tore 
the sheets from under the men. On night some of 
the most daring were discovered on board the San 
Carlos cutting sails and ropes. Persuasions, threats, 
and even the noise of firearms, were met with ridicule. 
Finally, on the 12th of August, the Indians made a 
raid on the colony and attempted to massacre the 
entire company and gain possession of everything. 
They were repulsed, but returned three days later 
in much greater force. They were armed with clubs 
and bows and arrows. Fr. Vizcaino was wounded in 
the hand and his servant, Jose Maria Segerano, was 
killed. Several Indians were killed and others were 
wounded. They fled, taking their dead and wounded 
with them, but in a few days they returned in a sub- 
dued spirit and begged that their wounded be re- 
ceived at the mission for medical treatment. This 
was done, and a somewhat more friendly relation 
established. A stockade was built around the camp 
and no Indian carrying a weapon was allowed within 
the enclosure. Safety was assured, but no progress 



38 MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 

made in missionary work. One lad about fifteen 
years of age came daily and Fr. Serra attempted 
to teach him some words in Spanish. In time 
he induced the boy to persuade the natives to bring 
their children, that they might be baptized. A 
child was brought, and Fr. Serra, full of joy, requested 
the corporal to act as godfather, and then, surrounded 
by the soldiers and Indians, proceeded with the usual 
ceremonies of baptism. However, when he raised his 
hand to pour on the regenerating water, the Indians 
snatched the child away from the surprised priest 
and hurried away. Fr. Serra attributed the frustra- 
tion of the baptism to his own sins and even in later 
years when relating the incident tears of sorrow would 
fill his eyes. 

Meanwhile new cases of illness occurred among 
the colonists and death carried away eight soldiers, 
four sailors, one servant and six Christian Indians. 
Therefore when Governor Portola returned only 
about twenty persons survived. Little wonder that 
small progress was made in missionary work ! Prior 
to April, 1770, a year from the first appearance of the 
Spaniards, not a single neophyte was enrolled at the 
mission. Fr. Serra and his companion set to work to 
acquire the Indian language, and from that time 
began the dawning of Christian light at San Diego. 

In 1771 Fr. Luis Jayme and Fr. Francisco Dumetz 
came from Mexico and were appointed to take charge 
of the mission. In August, 1774, the mission was 
removed about six miles up the valley of the San 
Diego river to a place called by the Indians Nipaguay. 
There are no accounts of the ceremonies with which 
the transfer was celebrated, nor is the exact date 



MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 39 

known. By the end of the year the mission buildings, 
consisting of a dwelling, a storehouse, a kitchen of 
adobes and a wooden church measuring eighteen by 
fifty-seven feet and roofed with tules, were erected 
and the mission establishment was in better condition 
than at Cosoy. At the old site all the buildings 
were given over to the presidio, except two rooms, one 
for the visiting priests and the other for temporary 
storage of mission supplies coming by sea. 

In 1775 the number of Christian Indians enrolled 
were ninety-seven ; new buildings had been added, a 
well dug and considerable land made ready for sow- 
ing. October 3rd, Fr. Jayme and Fr. Fuster, who had 
succeeded Fr. Dumetz, baptized sixty Indians. That 
evening two of the recently baptized natives, under 
pretense of visiting relatives, left the mission and 
went from rancheria to rancheria telling the Indians 
that the fathers were about to baptize them by force. 
This excited the natives and caused over a thousand 
of them to attack the mission and also the presidio. 
On the night of November 4th they arrived in the 
valley of the San Diego river. Here they separated, 
one party proceeding to the mission and another to 
the presidio. Arriving at the mission, the Indians 
placed sentries at the huts of all the Christian Indians 
and threatened them with death if they moved or gave 
alarm. Other Indians sacked the chapel, robbing it 
of sacred vessels and vestments, while others set fire 
to the building occupied by the few soldiers as bar- 
racks. The rlames and yells of the Indians awoke the 
guards and the priests. Fr. Jayme thought the fire 
accidental, and rushing out alone he met the large 
band of savages, whom he greeted with his usual salu- 



40 MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 

tation, "Amad a Dios, hijos," ("Love God, my chil- 
dren"), only to be seized and dragged down to the 
banks of the creek, where he was stripped of his habit, 
beaten and shot to death with arrows. 

In one of the buildings lived the blacksmith and the 
carpenter, and with them was Ursulino, the carpenter 
from the presidio, who had been ill and was at the 
mission to recuperate. The blacksmith, Jose Maria 
Arroyo, rushed out, sword in hand. He fell, pierced 
with two arrows, and died almost immediately. Ursu- 
lino was wounded with arrows, which some days later 
proved fatal. Felipe Romero, the carpenter, seized a 
musket and rushed to the defense of the guards — but 
there were only three guards and a corporal, and 
what could they do against hundreds of savages r 
These men and Fr. Fuster took refuge in the only 
adobe building, which was a small room used as a 
kitchen, but had only three walls, the remaining side 
being exposed to the enemy. The roof was of dry 
branches. To protect themselves the soldiers erected 
a barricade with two boxes and a copper kettle. By 
the time the opening was closed two soldiers were 
wounded and disabled, leaving only the corporal, one 
soldier, the carpenter and the priest to defend the 
mission. The corporal, being an excellent shot, did 
the shooting, while the others loaded the muskets. 
The result was that every Indian who approached the 
open space was either killed or wounded. Then the> 
set fire to the roof, which quickly burnt. During the 
fire the greatest danger ensued lest fifty pounds of 
gunpowder which was stored in the kitchen . mi^ht 
be ignited by the falling firebrands. To prevent this 
disaster, Fr. Fuster courageously sat upon it. In this 



MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 41 

manner the gallant little party defended themselves 
until daybreak, when the Indians fled, carrying with 
them their dead and wounded. The survivors, crawl- 
ing from behind their kettle and box battlements, 
met the Christian Indians, who with tears and lamen- 
tations related the story of their confinement. 

Search was at once made for Fr. Jayme. His body 
was found near the creek, bruised from head to foot 
with blows from stones and clubs. His face was dis- 
figured beyond recognition and there were eighteen 
arrow wounds in the body. Fr. Fuster had two biers 
made, upon which the bodies of Fr. Jayme and the 
blacksmith, Jose Arroyo, were borne to the chapel of 
the presidio for burial. Ursulino died a few days 
later and was buried also in the chapel. Fr. Fuster 
resumed the mission work, holding services at the pre- 
sidio. 

News of the disaster at San Diego was conveyed 
to Captain Fernando Rivera, head of military defense 
in California, and reached him at Monterey on De- 
cember 13th. He notified Fr. Serra at once. When 
the latter heard of the death of Fr. Jayme, he ex- 
claimed : "Thanks be to God ; that land is watered ; 
now will follow the conversion of the San Diego In- 
dians." The next day a requiem mass was sung, at 
which six fathers assisted. Captain Rivera made 
preparations for immediate departure for San Diego. 
He was accompanied by ten or twelve soldiers. On 
the way south they stopped at Mission San Gabriel 
January 3rd. The following day a large colony of set- 
tlers from Mexico under the command of Captain Juan 
Raptista de Anza arrived at the mission. The danger 
»t San Diego caused Anza and seventeen of his sol- 



42 MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 

diers, and also Fr. Pedro Font to accompany Rivera. 
They reached the presidio on January 11th. Investi- 
gations were made regarding the outbreak. Indians 
were brought in from the rancherias, forced to testify, 
flogged, liberated and some were imprisoned, Finally 
one old Indian named Carlos, a former neophyte, 
came to the chapel and confessed to having been a 
ringleader in the revolt. He professed sorrow, but 
as he was afraid of the military he took refuge in the 
church. Rivera ordered Fr. Fuster to deliver up the 
culprit, on the plea that the right of church asylum 
did not protect such a criminal. He claimed that ac- 
cording to the papal bulls of four Popes, i. e., Gregory 
XIV, Benedict XIII, Clement XII and Benedict XIV, 
such people as murderers, robbers, mutilators, forgers, 
heretics, traitors and the like were denied the privi- 
lege of church asylum, and also claimed that the edi- 
fice was not a church anyway, but a warehouse used 
temporarily for worship. Rivera with several soldiers 
entered the chapel and dragged forth the Indian, for 
which act he and the men were excommunicated. The 
trouble was referred to Fr. Serra, who naturally sus- 
tained Fr. Fuster, especially since the padres claimed 
that no one could take a refugee from the church with- 
out license from the bishop. Relations between the 
military and the missionaries had at no time been alto- 
gether satisfactory, and this added fuel to the flame 
and was the principal cause or reason for the delay 
in the reconstruction of Mission San Diego. It was 
not 'until' 1780 that a new church, strengthened and 
roofed with pine timbers, was completed and. dedi- 
cated. A report on the condition of the mission given 
by Fr. Lasuen in 1783 is as follows: "A church, 



MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 43 

ninety by seventeen feet; a granary, seventy-five by 
seventeen feet; a storehouse, a house for sick women, 
a house for men ; a shed for wood and oxen, two 
houses for the fathers, a larder, a guest room, and a 
kitchen. These were all of adobe and from fifteen 
to seventeen feet high. With the soldiers' barracks, 
these buildings formed three sides of a quadrangle of 
one hundred and sixty-five feet. The fourth side con- 
sisted of an adobe wall, fifteen feet high, with a 
ravelin a little higher. There was a fountain for use 
in tanning, two adobe corrals for sheep and one for 
cows. These were outside the walls.'' At this time 
there were 740 neophytes under missionary care. San 
Diego was the first mission to register 1000 baptisms. 
The cabins for the Indian neophytes (converts) were 
of wood and grass. Other facts regarding this mission 
are that in 1793 a tile-roofed granary of adobe, ninety- 
six by twenty-four feet, was erected; in 1795 the vine- 
yard was surrounded by an adobe wall 1,500 feet in 
length, and in 1800 an extensive system of irrigation 
was begun and finished a few years later. About 
three miles above the mission the river was dammed 
by a solid stone wall thirteen feet thick and covered 
with a cement that became as hard as rock. In the 
center was a gateway twelve feet high and lined 
with brick. The dam was standing in 1874, but 
walled up with sand. Erom this dam an aqueduct 
constructed of tiling that rested on cobblestone and 
cement foundation carried a stream of water one 
foot deep and two feet wide to the mission lands. It 
was built through a precipitous gorge, often cross- 
ing gulches that were from fifteen to twenty feet 
in width and depth, but it was so strong that in 



44 MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 

places it supported itself long after the foundation 
had crumbled. 

On May 25th, 1803, the mission was damaged by 
an earthquake. In 1804 the bodies of Frs. Jayme, 
Figuer and Mariner were taken from their old rest- 
ing place and deposited in one grave, but in separate 
boxes, between the altars of the church, Fr. Jayme 
being placed nearest the altar of the Blessed 
Virgin, Fr. Mariner near the statue of St. James, 
and Fr. Figuer farthest south. Three stones were 
erected over the graves. 

On September 29th, 1808, work was begun on a 
new church, the ruins of which stand today. It was 
completed and dedicated on the day of the titular 
saint — San Diego de Alcala — November 12th, 1813. 
The ceremonies were conducted by Fr. Barona of San 
Juan Capistrano. The first sermon was preached by 
Fr. Geronimo Boscana of San Luis Rey, and the sec- 
ond by the Dominican Ahumada, whilst Lieut. Ruiz 
acted as sponsor. In 1821 the prosperity of the mis- 
sion was such that a crop of 21,000 bushels of wheat, 
barley and corn was raised. This was, with but a 
single exception, the largest crop ever raised at any 
mission. In 1830-31 the mission owned 8,822 head 
of cattle, 1,192 horses and mules, and 16,661 head of 
sheep, and there were 1,506 Indians on the roll of the 
mission. In 1834 Mission San Diego was secularized 
and passed into the hands of a parish priest. . Fr. Fer- 
nando Martin was one of the few missionaries of 
California w T ho finally took the oath of allegiance to 
the republic of Mexico. From the time of the estab- 
lishment of the mission in 1769 to the date of secu- 
larization, 1834, there were 6,638 persons baptized. 



MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 45 

1,879 couples married and 4,428 persons buried. 
Twelve years later, that is, on January 6th, 1846, an 
inventory was taken of the mission property, and 
there were 110 head of cattle, 65 horses and 14 mules. 
So much for secularization. In June of the same 
year the Mission San Diego de Alcala was sold to 
Santiago Argiiello for past services to the govern- 
ment. His title was not sustained, but in accordance 
with a decision of the United States Land Commis- 
sioner, given in 1856, which was based on the old 
Spanish law that divided church property into two 
classes, sacred and ecclesiastical, and whereby sacred 
property could not be sold, Mission San Diego was 
returned to the church. "Sacred property" is that 
which is formally consecrated to God, such as 
churches, church buildings, vessels and vestments. 
This included the priests' houses and their gardens. 
According to this decision all the church properties 
of the missions that had been sold by Governor Pio 
Pico reverted to the church, while the ecclesiastic or 
mission lands were considered government property. 

The ruins of Mission San Diego de Alcala stand 
on the bluff overlooking the broad Mission Valley, a 
sad ' remnant of past importance and prosperity. 
Only the facade of the church, and the walls and roof 
of one or two monastic rooms remain. Round about 
are banks of adobe mercifully screened by spreading 
branches and low shrubbery, as if to veil in pity the 
wreck that has been made by time and the neglect 
of man. 

"Mater Dolorosa," the Bell, is picturesquely posed 
upon a pile of crumbling adobe that was once the 
tall, graceful tower of the mission. It was placed 



46 MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 

there in 1894 when it was recast from fragments of 
other bells that had been used and broken in bygone 
days. It is rung by a wheel, as there is no place to 
hang it — and the clang is in truth like a mother of 
sorrow wailing over a crushed and broken child. 

Remains of the old water tunnel may be traced. 
Its course is from the interior of the main enclosure 
of the mission patio to a deep well further down the 
slope; and from this well, which was fed by springs, 
there runs another tunnel further down the hill to 
another well, from which in mission days water in 
great quantities could have been obtained in case of 
urgent need. Thus did the padres protect their estab- 
lishment against the aboriginal Indian. The tunnels 
were sufficiently high to permit a man to walk up- 
right almost the entire length. Portions are now 
caved in, but the remains fully attest to the foresight 
and precaution taken by the missionaries in their 
labors of settling the new country. 

Below the blufl are some ancient olive trees ana 
a few palms; they also are remnants of past glory, 
and are all that is left of an orchard that was the 
pride of the mission. The orchard was separated 
from the mission by El Camino Real, the Royal 
Road, or pathway, that joined all of the Franciscan 
missions of California. 

El Camino Real began at Mission San Diego and 
following north, touched at each of the twenty-one 
missions, the three pueblos and the four presidios. 
It was like a chain that linked a band of jewels, 
and it has been by the restoring of El Camino Real 
that the missions have been rehabilitated and reset. 
The Old Road of the missions is marked by a unique 



MISSION SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA 



47 



and most appropriate guide-post. It is a mission bell 
surmounting a post that carries also a signboard 
giving road directions, and, now and then, some 
historic fact about the missions. The first one of 
the bell guide-posts stands in front of Mission San 
Diego de Alcala and bears the following inscription : 
"Erected 1913 by Mr. and Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes, in 
memory of Fray Luis Jayme, the first martyr of 
California. Fr. Jayme was massacred by the Indians 
November 4, 1775. The bell was blessed and christ- 
tened 'J a y me ' by Rev. J. C. Mesny." 

Bell guide-posts direct the traveler to Old Town, 
the site of the first presidio, and from thence to Mis- 
sion San Luis Rey, Pala, San Juan Capistrano, Los 
Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Sonoma, 
leading by way of all of the missions. 




Copyrighted and Patented 



SAN DIEGO 

San Diego is the extreme southwest city of Cali- 
fornia. From Los Angeles it is 130 miles via El 
Camino Real, the State Highway which leads through 
Rose Canon and is marked by the mission bell guide- 
posts that give distances and directions. The Old 
Pueblo land grant of San Diego extends to within 
two miles of Del Mar, therefore the city limits are 
20.4 miles north of the improved town of San Diego, 
which fact explains the reason that the road is not 
better improved. It is not a county or state high- 
way, but a road through land that belongs to San 
Diego. The road is good and has few grades beyond 
six per cent. It is winding but with good curves. 

Hotels : The San Diego, a room and bath for a 
dollar and a half a day and up. U. S. Grant, tariff, 
$1.50 and up. Hotel del Coronado. 

Mission Garage, near corner of India and D Sts. 

The history connected with the founding of modern 
San Diego is unique. A man by the name of Alonzo 
E. Horton came from Connecticut to California in 
the early gold-digging days. In 1867 while in San 
Francisco he attended a public meeting for the dis- 
cussion of "What Ports of the Pacific Will Become 
Big Cities." Among them San Diego was mentioned. 
Within four days he had closed out his business in- 
terests in San Francisco and was on his way to San 
Diego. It was a fateful day for the sleepy little Old 
Town when this insistent man of progress landed 
from the steamer Pacific and began to investigate the 
possibilities and advantages of the port as a future 



SAN DIEGO 49 

big city. The present site of the city was then a 
waste of sagebrush and chaparral. Upon inquiry, 
Mr. Horton found that he could buy the property 
by having it put up and sold at auction. But in order 
to insure a legal title it was necessary to first hold 
an election, which the trustees refused to do owing 
to the expense attached thereto. Horton put up five 
dollars for election expenses, posting the three no- 
tices himself. In due time an auction was held and 
the first tract of land put up consisted of 200 acres. 
Horton bid one hundred dollars, and was surprised 
to find that everybody laughed. He found he was 
bidding too high and became more moderate. He 
was the only bidder on all the quarter sections, with 
the exception of Judge Hollister, who overbid him 
five dollars for a fractional section, the part which 
is now the site of Florence Heights. Horton told 
the Judge he could have it, but the Judge begged 
him to bid over him, and he finally consented to give 
twenty-five cents more and take the land. The thou- 
sand acres he bought cost him twenty-six cents an 
acre. At. the close of the sale Hollister remarked to 
Horton that he would not give a mill an acre for 
all the land he had purchased, adding "That land has 
lain there a million years and nobody has built a 
city on it yet." 

"Yes," said Horton, "and it would lay there a mil- 
lion years longer without any city being built upon 
it if it depended upon you to do it." The thousand 
acres he had bought for twenty-six cents per acre 
were destined to be worth millions of dollars during 
the lifetime of the purchaser. The first construction 
work that Mr. Horton did was to build a wharf at 



50 SAN DIEGO 

the foot of Fifth street. It cost him $45,000. In 
1870 he built the Horton House at a cost of $150,000. 
It was at that time one of the finest hotels in the 
State, but it has been torn down to make room for 
the million dollar U. S. Grant Hotel. 

Today the foresight of Alonzo Horton is recog- 
nized. The site which he chose for San Diego is a 
logical one for the first port of call in California 
north of the Panama Canal. It is a broad mesa 
stretching from the water's edge to the bluff over- 
looking the Mission valley. It rises high over the 
matchless bay that spreads out before it like an in- 
land sea. As for the bay, it is one of the few great 
harbors of the world. It has an area of twenty- two 
square miles, is completely landlocked, and has a 
depth of water over the bar at low tide of thirty-five 
feet. The main channel inside the bay will average 
from 1,500 to 2,000 feet in width and from 35 to 70 
feet in depth at low water. 

By act of the State legislature, May, 1911, the city 
of San Diego was granted absolute control of its 
water front, and the tidelands adjacent thereto. The 
tidelands comprise an area of 1,460 acres and lie ad- 
jacent to the city and constitute its waterfront, about 
eleven miles in extent. 

The bay is protected by Point Loma, a magnificent 
headland projecting fifteen miles out into the Pacific 
ocean. On the crest of this promontory, four hun- 
dred and sixty-four feet above sea level, is the old 
White Light Tower, established in 1851, but which 
now serves only as a day mark for ships, while far 
below is the modern lighthouse station built in 1891 
and from which the watchers of the fog flash signals 



SAN DIEGO 51 

of alternate red and white every twenty seconds. 
These lights are visible fifteen miles away. 

Other places of interest on Point Loma are Fort 
Rosecrans and the U. S. Wireless Station, with a rec- 
ord of having received messages from Cuba and Key 
West. There is also the naval memorial monument 
to the Bennington martyrs, and the homestead which 
is the international headquarters of Theosophy. 

Toward the south from Point Loma lies Coronado 
and Ballast Point. The latter was so named from 
ships taking rock from it as ballast in early days to 
Sacramento, where it was sold at twenty dollars per ton 
for street paving. Ballast Point is the old Spanish stake 
light station. It was changed to a beacon light in 1890 
with a fixed white light visible eleven miles distant 
It has a ten-second fog bell run by machinery. 

Coronado Peninsula protects the mainland from 
the waves of the sea. On the point of it lies the U. 
S. aviation fields, and then comes Coronado, which is 
considered a part of San Diego, although it has a 
separate city government. Tt has a famous hotel 
and a quaint tent city, which yearly attracts thou- 
sands of tourists. 

On the mainland is Balboa Park, the site of the 
Panama-California Exposition of 1915. It is a mag- 
nificent tract of fourteen hundred acres ot rolling 
ground, broken here and there by deep gorges, 
spanned by artistic bridges. From the canyon that 
almost surrounds it the hillsides slope gradually up 
to the level mesa that was crowned by the Exposition 
buildings. 

The boulevards, streets, county and state highways 
of San Diego city and county are exceptional. The 



52 SAN DIEGO 

county has expended approximately two million dol- 
lars in the construction of good roads. Most of them 
have been surfaced with disintegrated granite and 
no grade exceeds six per cent. Beautiful curves and 
proper bridges connect between five and six hundred 
miles of wonderful contour roads over the county. 
Besides the county roads, the State has built about 
one hundred and fifty miles of highway which is six- 
teen feet wide, with a base of concrete, and surfaced 
with a mixture of oil and small rock screenings for 
a wearing surface, at an approximate cost of $6,500 
per mile. Seventy miles of this State highway is 
El Camino Real and is marked by the mission bell 
guide-post. It lies mainly along the Pacific coast, 
while eighty miles lie east of San Diego and connect 
with the great Imperial valley. The perfection of 
the county road system is due principally to the ex- 
ceptional ability of the county surveyor, Mr. George 
Butler, who has w T orked indefatigably for years upon 
the plan and grades for this network of good roads. 
The drive through the mountains is excelled in 
scenery by no other part of the State except the 
Yosemite valley. 



LANDMARKS IN OLD TOWN 53 

Ramona's Marriage Place: It is the restored Estu- 
dillo House, with thick adobe walls, heavy mission 
timbers, hidebound rafters, broad verandas and beau- 
tiful, flowered courtyard and is one of the most inter- 
esting landmarks in Southern California. Formerly 
it was the residence of Don Jose Antonio Estudillo, 
one of the most prominent and influential men of the 
State. In 1825 Don Jose was granted a lot upon 
which to build a home. In a short time he had 
erected a spacious house of adobe, which he and his 
family occupied as a residence for over sixty years. 
It was, however, allowed to pass into ruins, from 
which picturesque state it was rescued by John D. 
Spreckels and Bros. 

In October, 1907, Maria Antonio Estudillo de 
Osuna sold the property to Salvador R. Estudillo 
and he in turn transferred it to the Spreckels interest. 
The restoration was made under the personal direc- 
tion of Mrs. Hazel W. Waterman, one of the few 
women architects in Southern California. It was 
necessary to replace the roof timbers and put in new- 
sills and door lintels in order to sustain the great 
weight of the adobe walls, which are three feet in 
thickness. The roofing is of caresa brought down 
from the Cuyamaca region for this purpose. Caresa 
has the appearance of bamboo and is cut in lengths of 
several yards. Over the heavy timbers is laid a net- 
work of caresa and upon it is then placed the tiling. 
A skilled tilemaker, Jesus Duarte, was brought from 
Mexico to make the tiles for the roof and floor, but 
the tiles on the floor of the patio were made by the 
Franciscan fathers about the year 1775. A tablet 
on the wall of the veranda tells us that "they were 



54 RAMONA'S MARRIAGE PLACE 

used to line the aqueduct bringing water from the 
dam constructed across the San Diego River to the 
old mission. The Estudillo House is indebted to 
Mr. D. C. Collier, who donated these tiles from a 
portion of the aqueduct on his property, 1910." 

The charming old house forms three sides of a 
square, the center of which is a spacious patio, with 
a fountain of sparkling water. Sweet Castilian roses 
cling to the adobe walls and cast dreamy shadows 
over the historic benches. Down through a shadowy 
arbor is Ramona's Well, where the glistening waters 
reflect this message from the pebbles and shells : 

"Quaff ye the waters of Ramona's Well, 
Good luck they bring and secrets tell, 
Blest were they by sandaled friar, 
So drink and wish for thy desire." 

Near by the well, there is one of the old historic 
palms that stood guard at the foot of Presidio Hill 
for more than a century, but fell in a storm several 
years ago and has now found a final resting place 
in this hospitable patio. It reminds one of a hoary 
hermit tucked aw r ay in the quiet corner of the garden. 
There is an old outdoor bake oven, and over by the 
wonderful cactus parking is an old overland stage 
coach. It is old "Diamond Tallyho," a Banning 
coach that was shipped around the Horn at a cost of 
$1,600. It is the property of the San Diego Pioneer 
Association and at the very sight of it old-timers 
burst into fits of reminiscence, for the stage is a '49er 
and used to make the run from Fort Yuma. 

There is also an old Spanish carreta, which is of 
even greater interest than the coach. On the veranda 



OLD CHAPEL 55 

there is posed an old tufa filter, belonging to the Alte- 
marana family. It is only one of many interesting 
things scattered about the court, and as for the rooms 
of the house they have become a historical museum. 
They are filled with objects- of interest, such as a 
chair used by the first district judge of California; an 
old print of the presidio ; quaint pictures, old furni- 
ture, and costumes that make Ramona's Home an 
educational institution as well as a pleasure resort, 
for here you see California as it was a hundred years 
ago and you hear the history of the missions told 
in an interesting style by the most genial of hosts, 
Mr. Thomas Getz, as he takes you an imaginary trip 
along El Camino Real and pauses at each mission to 
recount in an inimitable way its romance and his- 
tory. 

Old Chapel: The most interesting building in Old 
Town is the little old chapel made of adobe, but all 
of its adobe beauty and quaintness is lost behind 
boards — instead of repairing the adobe walls some- 
one has encased this monument of historic interest 
within an impenetrable screen. At the rear hung 
two old bells, one bearing the inscription : "S. Ivan. 
Nepo Muceno. Ave Maria Purisima. 1802," the 
other was a small bell of more modern date. They 
hung behind this church for years and attracted more 
interest than the church itself — because the church 
cannot be seen. They have been recently removed to 
the modern church nearby and hang in the belfry. 

The Cemetery and the Jail, both prisons of the 
flesh, are interesting places — both are relics and rem- 
nants. The latter was built by a man who became 



56 PRESIDIO HILL 

its first inmate and found a way to blow up the re- 
sults of his own handiwork, free himself and leave 
no walls for other culprits. To this day Old Town 
has no jail, nor does it need any. 

Presidio Hill: The great cross on Presidio Hill 
was erected by the Order of Panama in 1915 in mem- 
ory of Fr. Junipero Serra and his works. His work 
was the founding of the Franciscan missions of Cali- 
fornia. The first crude chapel was located on this 
hill. It formed a part of the first settlement and 
was enclosed within the palisade, together with the 
presidio or fort. The massive cross is made of steel, 
concrete and fragments of tiles from the old build- 
ings, tiles that weld the past and present, that wring 
from the founders of the modern city a cry of recog- 
nition and appreciation of the man and first master 
of the port, Fray Junipero Serra. At the foot of the 
cross is a bronze tablet bearing the inscription : 

IN THIS ANCIENT INDIAN VILLAGE OF COSOY 

DISCOVERED AND NAMED SAN MIGUEL BY CABRILLO 

IN 1542 

VISITED AND CHRISTENED SAN DIEGO DE ALCALA BY 

VIZCAINO IN 1602 

HERE THE FIRST CITIZEN 

FRAY JUNIPERO SERRA 

PLANTED CIVILIZATION IN CALIFORNIA. 

HERE HE FIRST RAISED THE CROSS 

HERE BEGAN THE FIRST MISSION 

HERE FOUNDED THE FIRST TOWN, SAN DIEGO 

JULY 16, 1769 

IN MEMORY OF HIM AND HIS WORKS 

THE ORDER OF PANAMA 1915 

Without this history San Diego would be as hun- 
dreds of other California towns, but with it stands 
alone, the first town of the greatest State in the 
Union. 



■ M 








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vjW 








t3fc 




mtl it • 


*LJi 






J3 




m^BKM »j. i j&tKE%&Nm 


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t w i^Brar- 1 '" 1 








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-Photo, Mrs. ./. .V. C. Forfr^ 



MISSION SAN LUIS REY. 



Mission San Luis Rey is 45 miles north of San 
Diego and 4.7 miles inland from Oceanside. It is 8b 
miles from Los Angeles via El Camino Real, the 
State Highway, which is marked by Mission Bell 
posts that give distances and directions. There 
are no hotel accommodations nearer than Oceanside. 

Mission San Luis Rey, the second station on El 
Camino Real, was the grandest of the mission estab- 
lishments. It was founded on the 13th of June, 1798. 
by Fr. Fermin Lasuen, president of the missions, as- 
sisted by Fr. Santiago and Fr. Peyri. The ceremony 
was supplemented by the baptism of fifty-four chil- 
dren. Within a week Fr. Peyri, who was left in 
charge, had baptized seventy-seven more. By July 
he had 6,000 adobe bricks ready to begin the erection 
of the mission buildings, which were completed ana 
readv for dedication in 1802. Thev were dedicated 



SS MISSION SAN LUIS REY 

to God under the invocation and patronage of San 
Luis, Rey de Francia (Saint Louis IX, King of 
France). During the first decade this mission made 
larger gains in number of neophyte population and 
had a lower death rate than any other. Fr. Peyri 
was beloved by all. He ministered personally to the 
needs of his charges and likewise superintended the 
agricultural pursuits. In 1818 San Luis Rey was the 
most prosperous mission in California, in spite ol 
the fact that so many of the sheep died that it was 
necessary for the padres to go as far north as San 
Juan Bautista to obtain wool enough to make cloth- 
ing for the neophytes at the mission. Fr. Peyri early 
established a hospital, in which he erected an altar, 
and took great pains to instruct the Indians in the 
law of correct living and how to take care of the 
sick. The highest number of neophytes enrolled at 
one time at San Luis Rey was 2,869, which was in 
1826. In 1828 there was a white population of thirty- 
five, which fact gives an idea of the isolation and self- 
sacrifice that these missionaries endured for the sake 
of assisting humanity. Fr. Antonio Peyri, unlike 
most of the Franciscans in California, was a strong 
supporter of the Mexican Republic and his surprise 
and disappointment at the enforcement of seculariza- 
tion knew no bounds. The pathetic romance of his 
being spirited away at night and taken oh board a 
vessel anchored in the bay at San Diego is one gener- 
ally credited by those interested in the missions. 
The story says that when the neophytes learned that 
the padre had been taken away by the emissaries of 
the Mexican govrnment they mounted their ponies in 



MISSION SAN LUIS REY 



59 




Fr. Antonio Peyri 



the grey dawn of the 

morning and gave a 

wild chase to the sea to 

try to rescue the padre 

and bring him back to 

the mission. As they 

appeared near the shore 

the ship "Pocahontas'' 

weighed anchor and 

slowly sailed out to 

sea. Two of the most 

venturesome ones 

swam after the ship 

and were taken on board and carried to Spain by the 

father. 

Mission San Luis Rey has a most beautiful loca- 
tion. It is situated on an eminence which commands 
a splendid view of the surrounding country and at 
the same time lends charm to the scenery by its own 
grandeur. Near by flows the River San Luis Rey, 
and surrounding the mission is a small hamlet, mostly 
Indians and Mexicans, which add life and interest 
to the picture. The architecture of the buildings was 
more perfect than most of the missions. The style 
was a composite of Spanish, Moorish and Mexican, 
forming a type well called ''Mission." The church 
was built of adobe and faced with burnt brick. It 
has a finely arched facade, a handsome doorway, 
a massive yet graceful bell tower, and a mortuary 
chapel which is an individual feature of San Luis Rey. 
This was the only mission that progressed after 
secularization, but it too declined after a few years 
and was finally sold on May 18th, 1846, to lose A. 



60 MISSION SAN LUIS REY 

Cot and Jose A. Pico for $2,437; but their agent was 
dispossessed and they failed to regain possession. 
Later it was decided that Governor Pico had had no 
right to sell the missions of California, and San Luis 
Rey, together with the other missions, was returned 
to the church. But it was returned in a dilapidated 
and sorry condition. During the Mexican war it had 
been used as a military post and its value had dropped 
to the lowest minimum. At the time of seculariza- 
tion the valuation of San Luis Rey was placed at 
$203,737, debt $93,000— the records say that "the 
church, 30x189 feet, of adobe, roofed with tile of clay, 
board ceiling, 9 doors, 18 windows, 4 adjoining rooms, 
all valued at $30,000, was included in the total 
amount, as were also the six ranchos valued at 
$40,437. These were Pala, Santa Margarita, San 
Jacinto, Santa Isabel, Temecula and San Pedro." 

The mission ranchos have passed into private own- 
ership ; the Indians are gone, and the ruined mission 
building was given, most fortunately, into the hands 
of Rev. J. J. O'Keefe, O.F.M., in 1892, at which time 
a community of Franciscans was established and they 
began the restoration. The buildings that had been 
pillaged for the tiles and rafters, the beautiful arches 
that had been blown down with powder to get out 
the brick, the doors and windows that had been ap- 
propriated by unscrupulous parties that they might 
build up historic ranch houses, were made to live 
again and Mission San Luis Rey arose as a phoenix 
from its own ashes. The restoration has been made 
by contributions, mostly from the Franciscan Order 
of Mexico. During the residence of Fr. O'Keefe, 
who restored the mission, there was expended about 



MISSION SAN LUIS REY 61 

$50,000, not all of which was used on the restoration 
— but an idea of the expense of restoration may be 
obtained by the fact that one thousand dollars was 
spent in rebuilding the mortuary chapel. It is one 
of the most beautiful parts of San Luis Rey. The 
general buildings of the mission are again in good 
condition and are a credit to the Catholic Church and 
the State of California. The restorations have been 
made along the original lines and from the material 
upon the ground. The adobes were moulded by 
Indians under the direction of the padres and were 
made from the adobe soil that lay on the ground to 
the depth of several feet and which had at one time 
been other buildings of the mission, such as the black- 
smith shop, the saddlery, the carpentry shop and the 
hospital, all of which have long since fallen and were 
left in heaps of ruins. The interior decorations are 
copies of the originals, remnants of which were readily 
seen in many places. 

Upon entering the church one is attracted to two 
Moorish archways; the one to the left enters the 
patio, and through the open door there is in view the 
old fountain and the belfry steps, worn and decayed, 
that lead to the tower and the outlook — while toward 
the right is an entrance under a beautiful shell arch 
to the mortuary chapel, which is by far the most 
interesting portion of the mission. It is octagonal, 
with a small circular pillar marking each form of the 
octagon, and the interesting thing is that each pillar 
was formed of brick moulded in a round form, the 
cornice concave, moulded and plastered in its proper 
form and the cap moulded in one square piece — most 
particular and unusual workmanship. This chapel 



62 MISSION SAN LUIS REY % 

was originally constructed to provide a place where 
the Indians might come and remain to weep and to 
wail aloud for the dead. When the bereaved ones 
could not be pacified they were conducted to this 
chapel and allowed to remain until their grief was 
assuaged. There is a small pulpit and altar, both 
reached by means of blind passages. 

The tower has been beautifully restored, as have 
also the lookouts. From the latter, in mission days, 
Indian boys were stationed on prominent points near 
the tower and instructed to watch over the valley. 
No one could approach the mission without their 
presence having been known and heralded long be- 
fore they arrived. From these lookout stations mes- 
sages were signaled to the herders in the field — by 
day a flag was used and by night a light. Toward 
evening a signal flag told the herder the number of 
sheep and cattle to drive to the corral for use the 
following day. As there were two thousand persons 
and more to supply with food, the number of animals 
slaughtered daily was tallied by the hundred and was 
always an item of great consideration. In the belfry 
hang two bells. One is small and cracked, but is said 
to be an original bell of the olden days ; the other 
is large and has been recast. 

The tiles that cover the restored building were 
brought back by those who had taken them away. 
In some instances they were taken from the roofs of 
houses and returned without the padres even asking 
for them. Cells for the priests, opening on the inner 
court, have been restored. The restoration is fairly 
satisfactory to those interested in historical monu- 
ments. 



MISSION SAN LUIS REY • 63 

Three original paintings have been returned, all of 
inferior workmanship. In mission days there was a 
splendid system of irrigation at San Luis Rey. A 
set of pipe lines that ran from a water supply was 
carried down to the mission by twelve pipes laid 
underneath the ground. They were small, but were 
of burnt brick, and led to a reservoir, and from them 
the fields were irrigated. Great quantities of that 
old pipe have been turned up by the recent settlers 
as they plowed and cultivated the soil back into use. 

The old road, El Camino Real, which ran in front 
of the mission, became closed and there was no direct 
approach to this most interesting of all the missions. 
Through the influence and activity of A. S. C. Forbes, 
president of El Camino Real Association; George 
Butler, county surveyor of San Diego County, and 
T. J. Fisher, supervisor, it has been opened, and the 
road, though at the present date still unimproved, 
now follows the original route past the mission, then 
turns into Camino Real de Pala, a most scenic and 
beautiful drive of twenty miles in length. 

In making the improvements at the mission some 
of the old tiles and bricks were found to bear the 
imprint of some foot or hand or other distinguishing 
mark of a person or age when it was made — all these 
have been reverently preserved. The baptismal rbnt 
lias been restored, but the original basin for holy 
water has been left untouched. From this basin 5,586 
baptisms were made during the mission days of Cali- 
fornia. In the cemetery there is a cross which is 
said to be the original one that was blessed at the 
founding of Mission San Luis Rey — of necessity, it 
has been greatly repaired. 



64 



MISSION SAN LUIS REY 



Another cross marks the resting place of Fr, Sal- 
videa, who served at different missions in California 
from 1805 to 1846. He was one of the most beloved 
of the Franciscan missionaries who settled California. 




Statue San Luis Rey, Pala 




-Photo, A. S. C. Forbes 



PALA 



Pala is located at the foot of the Palomar mountains. 
Tt is twenty miles inland from Mission San Luis Rev, 
with which it is connected by Camino Real de Pala, an 
excellent county road marked every mile by the Mis- 
sion Bell guide-post. From San Diego it is 64.8 miles. 

Pala is an Indian reservation and has not hotel ac- 
commodations. 

Pala was not a mission, but a branch establishment 
or asistencia of fission San Luis Rey. It is situated 
in a picturesque, beautiful valley through which 
runs the river San Luis Rev. The architecture is 
plain, the structure having but one distinguish- 
ing feature, the detached campanile, which is a repro- 
duction of the campanile at the old church at Juarez. 
Mexico, that was built in 1549. The base of this 
tower, which, by the way, is in the cemetery and not 
a part ot the chapel, is of cobblestones, upon which is 



66 PALA 

reared a superstructure of cement and adobe with 
arched openings for bells. The top is crowned by a 
growing cactus as w r ell as by a glistening cross. 

Pala was founded in 1816 by Fr. Antonio Peyri under 
the invocation of San Antonio de Padua. The estab- 
lishment of a chapel at Pala was a necessity in order 
to meet the needs of the great number of Indians liv- 
ing in the mountains and who were unable to attend 
service at Mission San Luis Rev. Within less than 
two years after the founding of Pala there were over 
one thousand converts enrolled. The Indians were of 
a superior type. They were athletic, being graceful 
dancers, magic runners, and soon become expert horse- 
men. They welcomed their four-footed friend, the 
horse, and found great sport in racing. 

After the secularization of the missions Pala be- 
came a picturesque ruin. Through the energy and 
ability of Rev. George D. Doyle, resident priest, the 
delapidated landmark has become a splendid monu- 
ment to religious ardor. Father Doyle sent letters to 
personal friends in which he set forth the needs of his 
picturesque but needy charge, and their response, 
amounting to $860, enabled him to perfectly and fit- 
tingly restore the chapel, the campanile and rooms for 
his own habitation. Before Father Doyle took charge 
at Pala the quaint and even beautiful mural decorations 
that adorned the walls had been whitewashed out of 
existence, and the attempt to replace them does not 
give a pleasing effect. The present altar is one that 
was brought by the Indians from their former home 
when they were exiled from Warner's ranch. A long- 
strip of drawn work of very exquisite design, handi- 
work of the same Indians, hangs from a beam of the 




~a 



4 



■iiirtfit 



-Phot^, A. S. C. Forbes 



Altar, Pala 



ceiling and marks a division for the chancel. The 
floor is made from the original tiles which were taken 
up and reset after the floor had been leveled. To 
avoid the step at the door Father Doyle ever thought- 
ful of the old people had the approach made an incline 
and not a step — not a bad idea for modern churches 
where it is ever the old and not the young that make 
an effort to attend church. 

In the restoration of Pala some wooden beams have 
been replaced with iron girders and some leather 
thongs by iron bolts. The repairs have been made 
along the lines best adapted to safety and endurance. 

The Indians at Pala seem contented and happy. The 
old ones long for their old environment but the younger 
ones have outgrown the great desire to return to 
Warner's ranch and the Hot Springs, Agua Caliente. 

The removal of the Indians took place May 12th, 13th 
and 14th, 1903. The allotment of lands in severalty 



68 EVICTION AT WARNER RANCH 

to the Indians of the Pala reservation was not ratified 
by the United States government until 1913. All 
these years the Indians had lived in the disgraceful and 
ridiculous government shacks, but as soon as they knew 
the land was to be their own they began at once and 
w r ith a will to build substantial houses and make per- 
manent improvements. Trees have been planted and 
in many instances almost hide the small portable 
houses of those who have been unable to replace them 
with better ones, and the valley appears as a garden. 

The school does not meet the needs or demands of 
the older children and they are sent to Sherman to 
finish their education, and there become trained out 
of their scope of advantages so that when they return 
to Pala they miss the electric iron and the mandolin 
and rebel at having to go out and chop wood and 
carry water. 

The Eviction of the Warner Ranch Indians. 

The eviction of the Warner Ranch Indians was the 
crowning crime of the white men against the Cali- 
fornia Indians. Had the Sequoia League and the War- 
ner's Ranch Indian Commission worked one-half as 
assiduously in defense of the Indians' title to their 
homes on Warner's ranch as they did to evict them, 
they would have been sustained, for the sympathy of 
the public for the Indians was so intense that it 
required only a strong leader to turn the tide against 
this cruel injustice. But these very organizations that 
were expected to lead an agitation in favor of the 
Indians were the ones that turned against them and 
aided in their eviction. 

J. J. W r arner came to California in November, 1831. 
He married Anita Gale at the Mission San Luis Rev 



EVICTION AT WARNER RANCH 69 

in 1837. She was the daughter of Captain Gale of 
Boston, who brought her to California when five years 
old and placed her in the family of Dona Eusaquia 
Pico, widowed mother of Pio Pico, where she remained 
until her marriage with Warner. 

Air. Warner became a naturalized Mexican citizen 
and was grantee in 1844 of Agua Caliente, afterwards 
known as Warner's ranch. (The foregoing is an ex- 
tract from the annals of the Historical Society of 
Southern California, 1895.) In 1848 the treaty of 
Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. Quoting from the re- 
port of the special agent for California Indians, Air. 
C. E. Kelsey (the report printed Alarch 21, 1906, by 
the Carlisle Indian School), on page 4 we find the 
following : 

"The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ceded California 
to the United States, guaranteed Mexican land titles in the 
ceded territory as they stood at the time of the transfer. Un- 
der Spanish and Mexican law Indians had certain rights to 
the lands they occupied and could not legally be evicted 
from them. It would seem that this right was an interest 
in the land and one entitled to protection under the provisions 
of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. 

The act of Congress which provided for the settlement of 
the titles to Spanish and Mexican grants imposed upon the 
commission appointed to make the settlement the dutv of 
first setting apart for Indian use all lands occupied by them. 
Tt may therefore be assumed that Congress considered that 
the Indians had substantial rights. It was the duty of the 
commission to investigate and contirm the Indian title wher- 
ever Indians occupied lands included within the limits of a 
Spanish or Mexican grant." 

Page 5: "The United States has always recognised, and 
the Supreme Court lias held that the Indians have a right to 
occupy the land, which right is termed the Indian right of 
occupancy, a right which can he cancelled only by mutual 
agreement." 

Notwithstanding the above acknowledged conditions 
of law, the Warner ranch Indians were evicted from a 



70 EVICTION AT WARNER RANCH 

home that they and their ancestors had occupied from 
the time that the Spanish took possession of California, 
in 1542. Indians do not voluntarily remove from com- 
fortable locations, especially when their dead have 
found sepulcher near the place. 

The removal of the Indians to Pala was arranged 
through a commission, the chairman of which was 
C. F. Lummis, at the time editor of Out West, a maga- 
zine in which he published the fact that the United 
States government had paid $46,230 for 3,438 acres of 
land, of which 2,000 acres were arable and 316 of it 
now cultivated by irrigation. This was the Pala reser- 
vation. By this purchase the United States govern- 
ment paid $13.44 an acre for the entire land, or $23.16 
an acre for the arable land, or $114.65 an acre for the 
cultivated land. 

The Indians at their old home on the Warner ranch 
had about 900 acres, of which 200 acres were arable and 
150 irrigable, with a sufficient amount of water and 
the kind they wanted, the hot springs. 

Mr. J. J. Warner did not receive a patent to the land 
in question until 1880, while the Indians had been in 
possession of the land all the time. He did not live at 
peace with the Indians, although he kept a mercantile 
store on the ranch at the hot springs. At the time of 
the eviction of the Indians the Agua Caliente or War- 
ner ranch had become the property of ex-Governor 
John G. Downey. Mr. Warner died April 11th, 1895. 
The Indians were evicted by ex-Governor Downey in 
1903. Of the eviction Grant Wallace of the San Fran- 
cisco Bulletin said in a letter published in the Out 
West, "It would be too much to expect any one at all 
familiar with the Spanish or Mexican land law to 



EVICTION AT WARNER RANCH 71 

believe that the decision of the United States Supreme 
Court was based on full familiarity with those laws." 
He further said there were but ninety-eight Indians re- 
moved, but there were forty-four teamsters employed 
by Inspector J. E. Jenkins to remove them. These 
teamsters were armed, according to Mr. Wallace, who 
also says that night after night sounds of wailing 
came from the adobe homes of the Indians. When 
Tuesday, May 12th, came, the day appointed for the 
removal, many of them went to the little adobe chapel 
to pray, and then gathered for the last time among 
the unpainted wooden crosses within the rude stock- 
ade of their ancient burying ground, a pathetic and 
forlorn group, to wail out their grief over the graves 
of their fathers. While Mr. Wallace assisted the lay- 
reader Ambrosio's mother to encoop a brood of chick- 
ens, one of her sons, Jesus, brought out an armful of 
books and threw them into a bonfire. Amid the shout- 
ing of teamsters, the howling of dogs, the lowing of 
cattle and the wailing of some of the women who rode 
on the great wagons, the caravan started. For three 
long days the long wagon train wound its way over 
dusty roads that led across the mesa and around the 
mountain, arriving at Pala where no preparation for 
their coming had been made. There were no houses 
ready and not event tents pitched. Think of the dis- 
appointment of these Indians ! They were temporarily 
housed in tents. Regarding this part of the disgrace- 
ful job Mr. C. E. Kelsey says on page 28 of his report : 
"The matter of houses for the Indians who removed 
from Warner's Ranch to Pala was a vexed question of 
the times immediately after the removal. The sugges- 
tion was made that the Indians be at once set to work 



72 EVICTION AT WARNER RANCH 

building adobe houses. This particular band had been 
making adobe, building adobe houses, and living in 
adobe houses for more than 100 years, and the adobe 
house was the one kind of house they knew all about. 
Adobe as a building material has some defects, but it 
also has some excellent qualities. It is suited to the 
climate, being warm in winter and cool in summer. It 
is wind proof, dust proof, and even when the roof was 
of thatch, the Indian houses were usually water proof. 
But for some reason the adobe idea did not meet with 
favor. It was said to take too much time. This objec- 
tion was also made against the project of buying rough 
lumber for the Indians to build into houses, and things 
were rather at a standstill until the brilliant idea was 
evolved of getting temporary houses for the Indians to 
live in permanently. The Indians were inclined to be 
mutinous and openly threatened to return to Warner's 
Ranch. There was evident need for haste, so fifty por- 
table houses were ordered by telegraph, — from New 
York. The order seems to have been filled in due 
course of business, and the delay in coming by freight, 
more than 4,000 miles, was not greater than usual with 
transcontinental freight, but as a time-saving device it 
was hardly a success. It was nearly six months before 
the Indians got into the houses. The expense was 
double what wooden cabins built on the spot would 
have been, and about four times the cost of adobes. 
There would be less room to cavil at this purchase if 
the houses were fairly adapted to the purpose for 
which they were bought. The houses are well enough 
constructed for the purpose for which they are adver- 
tised and sold, that is for a temporary house, or wooden 
tent. As a permanent dwelling place for human beings 



EVICTION AT WARNER RANCH 7i 

they are far from satisfactory. Being composed of but 
a single thickness of board three-quarters of an inch 
thick, they are hot in summer and cold in winter. The 
California sun has sprung the narrow strips compos- 
ing the panels and made cracks in about every panel. 
The sun has also warped the roof panels and injured 
the tarred paper which constitutes the rain-shedding 
part. The houses are neither dust-proof, wind-proof, 
nor water-proof, and are far inferior to the despised 
adobes. 

California has no winds comparable to the eastern 
cyclones, and yet not long ago a stiff breeze unroofed 
fourteen houses and made kindling wood of another. 
Nearly every house in the settlement is more or less 
wracked and twisted. 

In moving the Indians to Pala, one mistake was 
made which, though of small dimensions, is illustrative 
of a class. The Indians of Agua Calientc village speak 
a dialect of the Shoshonian stock. The little village at 
San Felipe, also evicted at the same time and moved 
to Pala, are of Yuman stock. Not a single word is 
alike in the two languages. Between these two diverse 
races of Indians there are generations of warfare and 
hatred, and though there has been no open war between 
them for a long time, a great deal of the old animosity 
still survives. The San Felipe removed to Pala number 
but thirty-four, a mere handful, surrounded by an over- 
whelming number of their hereditary enemies, and 
among whom they are unwelcome. The San Felipe 
are outraged in their feelings, or possibly in their 
prejudices, and will never be satisfied at Pala. They 
have said little on the subject, for they have all of a 
child's helplessness of making anyone understand. 



74 EVICTION AT WARNER RANCH 

The government seems to learn very slowly that In- 
dians are not all alike, and that different stock or races 
of Indians ordinarily cannot be put together. We may 
consider their ideas or antipathies to be childish, yet, 
if we wish to be successful in dealing with them we 
must necessarily take some account of the human char- 
acteristics of the Indian. I would therefore recom- 
mend that the San Felipe Indians be allowed to remove 
to Santa Ysabel where most of their friends and rela- 
tives are. More than half have left Pala already. 

Your special agent has no desire to criticise severely 
those government officials at Pala who did the best 
they could in a time of great stress, yet, there are cer- 
tain things in connection with the making of the Pala 
reservation that are valuable in showing what to avoid 
in trying to improve the situation at Campo and other 
places. There seems to have been a considerable waste 
of government funds, and, as usual, no one is willing to 
shoulder the responsibility. 

The new irrigation ditch has cost nearly $18,000, or 
about $45 per acre of land irrigated. It can not be 
used to irrigate any other land anywmere. The ditch 
is well built, with a proper grade and fine curves. About 
three-quarters of a mile of it is cemented. There are 
some criticisms that might be made as to money spent 
in a diverting dam of which very little is to be seen 
now and to other expenses necessitated by locating the 
upper end of the ditch parallel to the torrent. The 
capacity of the ditch is given as 1,700 inches of water, 
and the land to be irrigated about 400 acres. The duty 
of water under the San Diego Ditch and Flume Com- 
pany, the largest irrigation enterprise in that part of 
San Diego county, is 1 to 6 ; that is, 67 inches of water 



EVICTION AT WARNER RANCH 75 

would irrigate 400 acres of land. If we take the lower 
duty of 1 to 4, 100 inches af water would be sufficient. 
Or to put it another way, the ditch of 1,700 inches 
capacity would irrigate from 6,800 to 10,200 acres of 
land. These are minimum figures, however. It would 
be perfectly proper to make the ditch larger than neces- 
sary for the minimum amount of water. Four times 
the minimum or from 300 to 400 inches would have 
been ample as the capacity of the ditch. 

Your special agent has in former years visited Pala 
in the summer time, and he has seen the amount of 
water in the San Luis Rey river at that point. He 
doubts very much if the said river ever carries one- 
fourth of the capacity of the ditch in question during 
the irrigation season. The commission which exam- 
ined the various sites prior to the purchase of Pala 
state in their official report to the Secretary of the 
Interior that they measured the San Luis Rey river at 
the point of diversion, and found a flow of 142 inches. 
Just why it should have been necessary to build a ditch 
a dozen times larger than there is land to irrigate, or 
water to irrigate with, is a query which an inspection 
of the premises does not enable one to answer. This 
big ditch contrasts strongly with the ditch recently 
completed on the Rincon reservation under the direc- 
tion of the agent, planned to irrigate 200 acres of land, 
and which cost a little less than 




Santa Isabel 



SANTA ISABEL 

Santa Isabel, a mission chapel, is located 71.4 miles 
from San Diego and 16 miles from Warner's Ranch. 
The route is via La Mesa, El Cajon, Lakeside, Alpine, 
Descanso, Lake Cuyamaca and Julian. 

Santa Isabel, like Pala, was an asistencia and not a 
mission. The rancho of Santa Isabel upon which this 
chapel is situated is connected with the history of 
both the Mission of San Diego and that of San Luis 
Rey. This branch establishment was founded in 1822 
with 450 baptised Indians enrolled and immediate ar- 
rangements were made to construct a chapel, several 
houses, a granary and, as Bancroft says, a graveyard. 
The brave march of civilization among aboriginals has 
always made a graveyard an essential. 

All that is left of Santa Isabel is a heap of ruins and 
an annual, brush ramada with floral altar. Long ago 
the little adobe chapel fell under the insistent patter 
of rain, and the quiet neglect of religion when there is 
no silver to cross the palm. Santa Isabel may well be 
termed the Church of the Desert, for it is near the 
line of the Colorado desert and for the greater part 
of the year is but a heap of ruins, but as fiesta time 
approaches this pathetic mound springs as by magic 
into beauty ; walls are made of verdant boughs, inter- 
woven by tules and branches of green ; wild flowers 
garnish and decorate the altar, and remnants of the 
mission converts and their few offspring gather to 



78 



SANTA ISABEL 



chant the time remembered chants and mourn the 
advent of the whites. 

The bells of Santa Isabel swing from a cross beam 
erected on the outside of the ruins, and among these 
Indians the bells are as sacred as would be the wings 
of angels — and any vandalism would be worth the 
vandal's life. When the bells begin to ring every 
Indian, Mexican and white person for miles around 
come to join in the service today just the same as they 
did in the yesterday of old. 




Capistrano by Moonlight 



MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 

Mission San Juan Capistrano is in the extreme 
southern part of Orange county, about 16.5 miles south 
of Santa Ana, the county seat. It is about 63.5 miles 
from Los Angeles and 70.6 miles from San Diego via 
El Camino Real, the State Highway, which is marked 
by Mission Bell guide-posts that give distances and 
directions. 

The picturesque and very beautiful ruins of Mission 
San Juan Capistrano has made this mission better 
known to travelers than perhaps any other of the old 
missions. It is situated just half way between Los 
Angeles and San Diego on rolling land that rises be- 
tween two valleys. Through the valleys run the 
streams Trabuco and San Juan furnishing plenty of 
fresh water. for the mission and its gardens. The water 
was brought to the mission by means of underground 
waterways or open ditches known as zanjas. Toward 
the west is the Pacific ocean about two and a half 
miles distant. The place was known by the Indians as 
Sajirit. Father Serra speaks of it as Ouanis-savit and 
Father Boscana calls it Acagcheme. 

Two attempts were made to found a mission at this 
site before the padres were successful. The first was 
made by Fathers Lasuen and Amurrio in the latter 
part of October, 1775, at which time they erected a 
large cross and blessed it, swung bells in a tree and 






Mission San Juan Capistrano 



MISSION SAX JUAN CAPISTRANO 81 

said mass beneath the protecting shelter of a ramada— 
a hut constructed of branches.- Father Palou gives the 
date as October 30th, but Sergeant Ortega, also a mem- 
ber of the party, records it as the 19th — a matter of but 
little import, for within a few days the project was 
abandoned, the bells taken down and buried, and the 
missionaries and few soldiers recalled to San Diego, 
on account of the massacre that had occurred at that 
mission. The second attempt was successful and the 
mission was formally dedicated to the memory and 
patronage of Saint John of Capistran by Fr. Serra on 
Nov. 1st, 1776. The first baptism took place on De- 
cember 15th, and within the following year forty ad- 
ditional names were added to the register. Capistrano 
became a flourishing mission but it did not excel either 
in number of converts or in wealth, and yet it was the 
first one to pass under the ban of secularization. 

In one of the record books of the mission it is stated 
that the church was begun February 2nd, 1797, the day 
dedicated to the solemnity of the Purification of the 
Blessed Virgin, and finished in 1806. It was bh 
on the evening of the 7th of September of the same 
year by the Rev. Fray Estevan Tapis, president of the 
missions of Aha California, after which follow a list 
of names of those who assisted at the ceremony. 

By this record we learn that the construction of this 
great stone church took the Indians nine years, for 
the work was done by the Indians. They carried the 
stones from the canyon of Mission Vieja, about six 
miles distant. The boulders were brought down on 
the carretas — ox carts — but the smaller stones were 
carried by the Indian neophytes, men, women and even 
the children helping to build San Juan Capistrano. It 



82 MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 

is said that they formed two lines, those passing to the 
cast were empty-handed and those coming west car- 
ried stones. The stones were not hewn and fitted 
together, but were used more as a foundation for 
walls of mortar or even adobe. The round stones can 
be seen in the thick walls, some parts of which are 
seven feet in thickness. The dimensions of the church 
were 159x30 feet, singularly long and narrow. It was 
built in the form of a cross, with nave and transepts. 
The roof was arched and crowned with seven domes 
as well as a heavy, high bell tower. Sycamore logs 
for the beams and rafters were brought from the 
Trabuco canyon and the limestone for mortar from the 
quarry near El Toro. The tiles for the roof Avere made 
in the kilns that may yet be seen in the canyon of the 
oven, La Canada del Orno. 

The great magnificent building was doomed to short 
service. It was destroyed by an earthquake December 
12th, 1812. It was a Sunday morning when a special 
mass was being celebrated, as the day was the Feast 
of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, 
when there came a rumbling noise, a rolling of the land 
and swaying of the building, the domes on the roof 
parted wide open, then a crash, and mortar and stone 
fell upon the kneeling congregation, crushing the lives 
out of thirty-nine men and women, for there were no 
children present. At the first rumble a few rushed 
toward the chancel and were saved ; others tried to 
escape through the doors and were caught on the 
wrecked threshold. Only ten were saved. 

An effort was made in the early sixties to restore 
San Juan with adobe walls and shingle roof. The 
domes that still remained over the transepts were 



MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 83 

blown down with gun powder. The walls were rebuilt 
with abobe, but before the wooden roof could be put on 
a severe rainstorm swept the country and the walls 
of mud crumbled to the ground. No further effort has 
been made to reconstruct beautiful San Juan Capis- 
trano. Before the great church was built services were 
held in the building known as Father Serra's church, 
a long low building, 115 feet in length, on the east 
side of the patio. But later a chapel has been con- 
structed out of two of the living rooms of the padres. 
The partitions were removed, a choir loft built in the 
west end, a modern stained glass window placed in 
one of the window frames — in fact, a new church was 
built within old walls. The church decorations such 
as statues, pictures and candlesticks, were used in the 
great stone church, as only the nave was destroyed, 
thus leaving the transepts and sanctuary intact. The 
statues are of wood and some of them are very beau- 
tiful. Through the zeal and care of Rev. St. John 
O'Sullivan, resident priest at Capistrano, the objects 
of historic interest and value have been restored and 
repaired and are now a credit to both him and the 
church. 

Father O'Sullivan has prepared an interesting and 
attractive pamphlet entitled, "Little Chapters about 
San Juan Capistrano," that may be procured at the 
mission or by addressing Rev. St. John O'Sullivan. San 
Juan Capistrano, California. 

The old mission is a perpetual delight to artists and 
to travelers. It has broken arches and ivy-grown walls ; 
it has quaint recesses and a charming little chimney. 
There are chests of vestments, that few may see ; there 
is an old unused confessional box and an equally old 



84 MISSION SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO 

bier for the dead; there is the kitchen and adjoining 
store room or pantry with a queer gallery still in place 
whereon were piled the extra sacks and casks of pro- 
visions. The only thing that you may not see are the 
Indians who built this wonderful establishment and 
for whom it was built— they all are gone. The work 
of the Franciscan friars for the California Indians was 
and ever will be the greatest missionary work of the 
world. Had they been allowed to continue their 
method of civilization for these untutored splendid 
creatures, the Indians, a superior race of moral human- 
ity would have been preserved. As it is, both the 
tutor and the student are wiped away through greed 
and inhumanity toward man. 

Capistrano was secularized in 1833, and even after 
the loss of the great church, the inventory placed the 
valuation of the mission at $55,003, with debts of only 
$1,410. In December, 1845, the mission buildings were 
sold to McKinley and Forster for $710. Forster was 
in possession for twenty years, but after extended 
litigation the Catholic church regained possession of 
the property, but only after its great wealth and ad- 
vantages had been dissipated and its grandeur mel- 
lowed in decay. 




Mission San Gabriel Arcangel 



MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 

Mission San Gabriel Arcangel, located nine miles 
from Los Angeles, was founded September 8th, 1771, 
by Father Angel Somera and Father Pedro Cambon. 
The two padres, with a guard of ten soldiers, four 
muleteers and four soldiers who were to return, left 
Mission San Diego August 6th and arrived at San 
Gabriel river on September 8th. The party selected a 
fertile, well wooded spot on the banks of Mission creek, 
a tributary to the river. This location was about five 
miles from the present site of the mission. A great 
cross was constructed, bells hung in the tree, an altar 
raised and decorated, all of which was watched with 
much concern by the natn^es. Finally the Indians 
attempted by a demonstration of hostility to prevent 
the Spaniards from continuing their work, but accord- 
ing to Father Palou, one of the padres unfurled a ban- 
ner, an oil painting of the Virgin, when the two chiefs 
threw down their arms and approached the picture, 
laying their necklaces and bows and arrows at the 
feet of the beautiful Queen. Whereupon all their fol- 
lowers came and did likewise. The natives seemed to 
lose all fear of the strangers and even helped to erect 
the temporary structures for the missionaries. Friendly 
relations were soon established and would probably 
have remained had it not been for the rashness of one 
of the soldiers who grossly insulted and outraged the 
wife of one of the Indian chiefs. The Indians waylaid 
the guard, one of whom was the culprit, and in the 



MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 87 

melee the Indian chief was slain and his head brought 
back and set up on a pole in front of the barracks. The 
good-for-nothing soldier was transferred to Monterey, 
the mission guard increased to sixteen and the In- 
dians frightened away. In a few days they came and 
begged the head of their chief. We venture to say that 
bad the soldier been led out in front of the Indians and 
shot for having committed a grievous sin, both in the 
eyes of the church and according to the moral laws of 
the Indian, it would not have taken two years to regis- 
ter seventy-three Christian baptisms, as was the case. 
Progress at San Gabriel was slow, both temporal and 
spiritual. The first chapel, long known as "Mision 
Vieja," was but a simple wooden building enclosed, 
together with the dwellings of the priests and attend- 
ants, within a stockade. The stockade was early re- 
placed by an adobe wall. Not a vestige of the old 
chapel remains, nor is the site marked in any manner. 
The Indians in this locality were numerous and be- 
longed to the rancheria of Sibagna. They had a form of 
government that allowed each eaptain absolute com- 
mand of his own lodge and the command was heredi- 
tary. Murder and adultery were punishable by death 
and robbery was unknown. Marriages were conducted 
with greatest ceremony and w r ere forbidden between 
relatives. Quarrels were settled through arbitration. 
The people were well built, strong, healthy and happy. 
They had quite as much superstition and religious cer- 
emony as we have and objected to proselyting much 
as we do when it is done by the Mormons and Hin- 
doos. Their food consisted of deer-meat, rabbits, 
coyote, wild cat, squirrels, gophers, held rats, skunks, 
raccoon, birds, snakes (excepting the rattlesnake) and 



88 MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 

once in a while a bear. Fish, whale and sea otter were 
relished when procurable, but the most favorite morsel 
was roasted grasshopper. A nice large fat locust im- 
paled on a sharp stick and toasted in front of a camp 
fire was particularly relished. Acorn bread with the 
bitterness extracted through a series of soakings in 
fresh water made a substantial food. Chia and moun- 
tain cherry provided seeds and nut pulp that were 
delicious to the native Californian, and were a nutri- 
tious aliment, according to Hugo Reid. 

The Indians are a Stirling race of men who have 
superstitions of a flood and a spiritual land ; of an evil 
and a good spirit ; of an unknown country where horse 
flesh and acorns abound in plenty ; of a land from 
whence the dead return — they also have actualities of 
a return of good for evil ; a division of the last blanket 
when the snow is deep and cold ; a cinch of the belt 
when a friend is starving that he may have succor, 
and a few other vital humanitarian principles that 
would make the civilized world gasp, if it were drawn 
into comparison. Little wonder that men who lived 
so perfect a Nature Life as to go unclothed and un- 
abashed and subsisted on wild game and uncooked 
grain should resist the instructions into a faith and 
religion of men of austere rules and peculiar customs 
no matter how good the men or easy the customs. 
There probably never was a better set of missionaries 
sent out to civilize and convert aborigines than were 
the Franciscan friars, but we shall never cease to grieve 
that the Indians of California were bent beneath the 
rod of Progress and that later the same relentless 
Progress rifted out the Franciscan missionaries. 



MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 89 

Mision Vieja — Old Mission — which according to a 
document signed by Father Palou in Mission San Ga- 
briel Arcangel, October 9th, 1773, three years before 
its removal, was quite a pretentious affair for three 
years' work. The records say that this primitive 
church was 54 feet long and 18 feet wide, built of logs 
and covered with tule. There was a sacristy behind the 
altar. A second house, 45 feet long and 17 feet wide, 
made also of logs and covered with the tule was divided 
into two rooms. A storehouse 36 feet long and 15 feet 
wide was made of logs and tule. A fourth building, 
36 feet long and 18 feet wide, was made of logs but 
roofed with mud or adobe. A kitchen 15 feet square 
was built of lumber and covered with clay or mud. All 
these buildings were enclosed within a palisade 60 
yards square, with two exits. There were nine small 
houses made of lumber, with mud roofs, for the neo- 
phytes. There was also a small frame house used as a 
granary and two frame houses for the soldiers. There 
was an enclosure or corral for stock. 

The same records say that in the year 1776 (year of 
our Independence) the mission was removed from the 
old place to the present location, because the new 
place was better fitted for a mission. The buildings 
could not of course be moved, so new ones were 
erected. 

They first built a house 150 feet long, 18 feet wide 
and 10^2 feet high, made of adobe and divided into 
three rooms, one for seeds, another for tools and the 
third for the padres. They constructed a chapel 30 
feet long by 18 feet wide and roofed with tule. There 
was also a corral. In 1796 the small chapel was re- 
placed with a larger church with walls of adobe and 



90 MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 

roof of tile. It was 108 feet long and 21 feet wide. 
This again gave way in 1800 to the present building of 
stone and mortar and brick. The foundation and the 
wall as high as the windows are of stone ; above that 
the building material is brick. Originally, the church 
had an arched roof and a tower, but the earthquake of 
1804 damaged the building to such an extent that the 
arches of the roof had to be torn down and a new roof 
which was made of timbers and tiles was substituted. 
The tower fell and later the tiles on the roof were re- 
placed with shingles. The interior has always been 
kept in fairly good repair. The ceiling has in recent 
years been panelled in oak, the walls plastered, and 
adorned with crude paintings of the apostles, framed. 
The altar is plain, but the figures back of it are some 
of the most interesting art objects in California, as 
many of them are the original church decorations that 
were brought from Mexico. The central figure above 
is Saint Gabriel ; to the left is Saint Francis ; to the 
right Saint Anthony. The central figure below is the 
Virgin Mary (a new figure) ; to the left Saint Joachin ; 
and to the right Saint Dominic. The earthquake of 
1812 overthrew the main altar, breaking the statue of 
Our Lord, St. Joseph, St. Dominic and St. Francis. It 
also damaged the sacristy, the convent of the mission- 
aries, and many other buildings. Other objects of in- 
terest to the visitor are the old brass font, the brass 
candlesticks, the silver naveta and aspergill (bowl and 
sprinkler) for holy water, and the odd silver baptismal 
shell, all pieces of the original set of church decora- 
tions. Under the entire floor, five deep, are buried 
many of the most distinguished Spaniards of early 
California. At the foot of the altar is buried the Rev. 



MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 91 

Father San Jose Sanchez, once the President of the 
missions. It is said that he died of grief at the ruin of 
San Gabriel by secularization. Fathers Boscana, An- 
tonio Crusado and Miguel Sanchez, to whom the suc- 
cess of the mission was greatly due, all rest within its 
walls. To the rear of the church is a small cemetery, 
but in that small space it is said that 7,000 Indians have 
been buried. In some instances skeletons have been 
removed, but in many cases the bodies are believed 
to have been buried very deep, and one upon another. 
Besides the Indians, many Mexican and Spanish fam- 
ilies bury their dead in the church yard of San Gabriel 
Arcangel. 

In the year 1800 there were 1,078 neophytes attached 
to the mission, 1,953 persons had been baptized, 869 
had died, and 396 couples had been married. About this 
time a Spanish woman, noted for her religious zeal and 
financial ability, came to San Gabriel mission to assist 
in Christianizing the Indians. This was Eulalia Perez 
de Guillen, wife of a Spanish soldier. She was given 
charge of the Indian girls, and soon became mistress 
of the entire place. She was appointed bookkeeper and 
treasurer, and was entrusted with the storehouse keys. 
It was Eulalia who paid all bills, whether for one hide 
or for a cargo of supplies brought by the ships. San 
Gabriel was prosperous and became rich. Industries, 
such as carpentering, saddlery, leather carving, soap- 
making, weaving, wood and horn carving, and paint- 
ing were taught. There was a grist mill and a saw mill, 
the former inside the present orange orchard fence 
across the Santa Fe railroad track from the church. 
The Indians were industrious and happy. The work 
shops formed a part of the mission buildings, and 



92 MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 

were within the enclosure. Remains of them can be 
seen today. In 1809 Father Jose Maria Zalvidea 
planted the famous cactus fences, thus fencing in hun- 
dreds of acres of land that was cultivated and required 
protection from the great bands of wild horses that 
overran the country. Some of the cactus grew to the 
height of ten and twelve feet and the fruit was highly 
prized as an article of diet. It was one of the varieties 
of Opuntia, or broad-leafed prickley-pear, known also 
as Tunas. 

In 1832 Governor Eachandia sent an envoy to the 
mission, demanding a loan of $20,00. Eulalia stoutly 
refused to pay out the coin or to give up possession 
of the treasury keys. The storehouse was broken open 
and $20,000 in gold taken forcibly — as a loan ; but it 
was never returned. This act of violence was followed 
by secularization ; and prosperous San Gabriel, with 
its record of over 42,000 head of live stock, 7,709 bap- 
tisms, and gold by the sack, passed into government 
control and suffered like fate with the rest of the mis- 
sions — temporal and spiritual destruction. In June, 
1846, the mission estate was sold to Reid and Work- 
man in payment of past services to the government. 
The title was invalid and the property returned to the 
church. In 1847, Father Bias Ordaz took charge of the 
mission, and ministered to the few remaining Indians 
until his death in 1850. Father Joaquin Bot suc- 
ceeded him. 

On the death of Father Bot, July 14th, 1903, Rev 
Henry O'Reilly succeeded to the pastorate which he 
held until 1906. He was followed by Rev. P. M. Ban- 
non and an assistant, Rev. William Powers. 

Rev. Bannon died January, 1908, and in February 



MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL 93 

the mission was turned over to the "Missionary Sons 
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary," a congregation 
that was founded in Spain, 1849, by the Venerable 
Anthony M. Claret, Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba. 
In the United States they have houses in San Antonio 
and San Marcos, Texas, and in this diocese they have 
charge of San Gabriel and San Fernando. 

A most complete and interesting history of "The 
Old San Gabriel Mission" has been published by Rev. 
Eugene Sugranes, C. M. F., and may be secured from 
him (address, Los Angeles Plaza Church) or through 
the Mission Curio and Art Shop, San Gabriel. This 
shop is at present in charge of Mr. P. J. McGough, who 
carries a choice selection of souvenirs, among them a 
replica of the Mission Bell guidepost that marks El 
Camino Real, the Royal Road, one of which stands in 
front of San Gabriel, which was the fifth station on the 
old historic road. 

In 1903 there were four of the old San Gabriel In- 
dians yet living. One, Mrs. Rosemire, who lives at 
Bakersfield, kindly furnished several of the old In- 
dian songs sung by the San Gabriel tribes in her youth, 
for use at the Women's Convention of Federated Clubs, 
held in February, 1903, at Fresno, Cal. She sang into 
a phonograph, and the music and words were copied 
by Professor Taylor and E. L. McLeod of Bakersfield. 
Many beautiful stories and legends are told of the San 
r iabriel Indians. 



THE GRAPE VINE AT SAN GABRIEL 

The immense grape vine at San Gabriel is worthy 
a visit — not because of its age, but because of its size. 
The overzealous sometimes claim that the vine was 
planted by the padres, but the following copy of an 
affidavit, the original of which is owned by Mrs. Susan 
Thompson Parrish, who lives near El Monte, Los An- 
geles county, and who was one of the three persons 
present at the planting, will set the matter at rest and 
prove that truth is stranger than fiction. The vine was 
planted in 1861 and the gigantic proportions which it 
has attained makes the enthusiast believe and rehearse 
that it is over a century old, and the largest grape vine 
in the world ; while in reality it is only one of the 
largest vines in the world and it is only a half century 
old: 

State of California, 
County of Los Angeles, 
ss. 

Personally appeared before me, one DAVID FRANKLIN 
HALL, who deposes and says as follows: 

In 1854 Dr. George I. Rice and I bought of Hipolito Cer- 
vantes the house and lot now known as the Grape Vine 
property. The house was a small affair, of three rooms, 
and a bat roof, and there was no grape vine on the lot. 

L. J. Rose's purchase of land, which he improved and called 

SUNNY SLOPE, included the house of Courtney, 

(a son-in-law of Michael White, one of the oldest pioneers), 
on which he (Courtney) had transplanted a wild grape vine 
he procured from a canyon near the home of B. D. Wilson 
(Lake Vineyard). 

Its location obstructed the plans of Mr. Rose, and he gladly 
gave it to me, and assisted me in digging it up. It had been 
pruned to a height of two and a half (2 l / 2 ) or three (3) feet, 
and the trunk had thickened to a diameter of three or four 
inches. We left one short branch on it. I took it in my buggy 
to my own house, and placed it where is now flourishes, in 
the spring of 1861. 



96 EL MOLINO VIEJO 

It grew luxuriantly from the start, and we used its shelter 
as a summer kitchen until I sold the premises to Mr. Bailey 
in 1881 or 1882, of which date I am not positive, but I had 
been there continuously for twenty-seven years. 

DAVID FRANKLIN HALL. 
Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 10th day of January, 
1908. D. R. WELLER, 

Notary Public in and for Los Angeles County, California. 

The vine was planted in 1861, the year that the San 
Gabriel river divided its course/and therefore one to be 
well remembered. The growth of the vine attests to the 
wonderful fertility of the soil, for it should be remem- 
bered that it was only a wild grape vine dug up out of 
a canon. 

EL MOLINO VIEJO 
(The Old Mill) 

El Molino Viejo, The Old Mill, is located about one 
and a half miles from Mission San Gabriel. It was 
built for Fr. Jose Maria de Zalvidea by Joseph Chap- 
man, the first American to settle in California. Chap- 
man was a native of Massachusetts, but landed on the 
shores of California with the buccaneer Hipolyte 
Bouchard who visited California in 1818. Chapman 
was sent ashore by Bouchard to satisfy and explain 
to the authorities the presence of the pirate ships that 
Bouchard had brought into the waters of the Pacific. 
The explanation was not satisfactory and Chapman 
was taken prisoner while the pirate ships sailed away. 
Notwithstanding this unpleasant introduction to Cali- 
fornia, Chapman became a valued citizen and later 
married a daughter of one of the foremost citizens of 
Santa Barbara, Sefiorita Guadalupe Ortega. He came 
to reside in Los Angeles and later at the Mission San 
Gabriel Arcangel. 



EL MOLINO VIEJO 9/ 

Fr: Zalvidea, the thrift}-, industrious, popular padre 
of San Gabriel had turned the wastes of sage brush 
and cactus patches into fields of waving grain and in 
order to harvest the crop he had Chapman build a 
grist mill. It was located on the sloping side of a hill 
not far from Lake Vineyard, now called Wilson's Lake. 
A two hundred foot dam was built across the end of 
the lake in order to increase the area as part of the land 
was but a swamp. It was constructed of great cobble 
stones that were hauled from the Arroyo Seco on ox- 
carts or carretas. 

The water to run the mill was brought from Los 
Robles Canon or Mill's Spring creek in a flume fol- 
lowing the bluff on the Richardson and Stoneman 
ranch. The mill was built fifty-five feet long by 
twenty-four feet wide with walls of solid masonry 
three to four and a half feet thick. It has a roof of 
red tile. The water wheel was placed on the east side 
where there are two great arched openings. The 
upper story was the grinding room with two very 
small windows protected with bars and heavy shut- 
ters. To the west were two funnel-shaped cisterns, 
about twelve feet deep, which furnished the water- 
shed. After the water was used for mill power it was 
run through a cement gutter or flume down to the 
lake, which increased the water supply and raised 
the depth of the lake. Below the dam there was a saw- 
mill, a tannery and a place for washing wool, for 
thousands of sheep grazed the hills. But alas, the mill 
was not a success. The wheel chamber was too low, 
therefore the water striking the horizontal wheel 
splashed over the wall and seeped through the shaft 
hole to the mill stones on the upper floor where the 



98 



EL MOLINO VIE TO 



meal was stored. This made it necessary to remove 
the meal at once to the mission, as it would become 
damp if left at the mill. It was a sad defect and 
caused the mill to be abandoned except by those who 
carried the meal away immediately after it was 
ground. The old grinding stones, each two and a half 
feet in diameter and between seven and eight inches 
thick, of volcanic tufa brought from San Gabriel 
Canon, later became a horse block at the San Marino 
Rancho. 

In 1859 the mill passed into the possession of Col. 
E. J. Kewen, a veteran of the Mexican war and ex- 
attorney general of California. After his death in 
1879 the old mill became a part of the Mayberry ranch 
and about 1903 became the property of H. E. Hunt- 
ington, who restored it to its former proportions and 
picturesqueness and uses it as as his private golf 
club house. 





SAN BERNARDINO CHAPEL 

A first crude chapel was erected and dedicated May 
20th, 1810, to San Bernardino, the Saint of Sienna, 
whose family name was Abbizeschi. It was located at 
the Indian rancheria of La Politana, a place now 
known as Bunker Hill, between Colton and Urbita 
Springs. The chapel of San Bernardino was an asis- 
tencia of Mission San Gabriel. For many years the 
padres at the mission realized the advantage of estab- 
lishing a station and chapel near San Gorgonio Pass, 
where the relentless east wind blew the traders from 
Sonora into the Valley of Plenty, Guachama, leaving 
them harassed and storm beaten with the trials of 
the trip. 

As early as 1774 Juan Bautista de Anza, Captain 
of the presidio at Tubac, had opened the road from 
Sonora to Mission San Gabriel and had brought tales 
of the numerous rancherias of Indians at the mouth of 
the Pass far beyond, but until 1810 the .padres had 
been too much occupied with other fields to be able 
to establish this much needed post. Fr. Francisco Du- 
metz was placed in charge and apparently some prog- 



100 SAN BERNARDINO CHAPEL 

ress in missionary work was being made, when the 
earthquake of 1812, which was wide reaching in its 
devastations, visited this district and filled the Indians 
with frantic fear. They fled to their shrines to Isel in 
the mountains and besought their medicine men to pro- 
tect them, but as the disturbance continued and hot 
mud and boiling water spurted up in the streets of 
La Politana, as the village was called, the priest tried 
to calm the populace by covering the hot mud and fill- 
ing up the boiling springs, but to no avail. At each 
rumble of the earth the frightened creatures became 
more frantic and finally rose in revolt and fear and 
destroyed not only the first chapel of San Bernardino, 
but leveled the entire rancheria of La Politana. 

The Guachamas rebuilt the rancheria and occupied 
it long after the secularization of the missions, which 
occurred in 1832-34. In 1819 they invited the padres 
to come again to the valley and re-establish a chapel. 
The padres gladly accepted the assurance of co- 
operation and went with workers and guards and built 
a far more substantial mission establishment, which 
was again dedicated to San Bernardino. This chapel 
was completed in 1820, and was located near the 
present city of Redlands, on the Barton ranch. For 
eleven years the Indians, under the guidance of the 
padres, cultivated the fields, planted orchards, built 
zanjas, herded sheep, prayed prayers to the Saint of 
Sienna, and all lived in comfort and contentment until 
1831 when a band of marauding Indians from the 
desert made a raid on the mission establishment, 
destroyed the buildings, captured the Indian women 
and drove off the stock. Never wholly discouraged, 
but with the peace of angels, these holy men of God 



SAN BERNARDINO CHAPEL 101 

began again to repair the ruin. The new buildings 
were constructed of cobblestone foundation and adobe 
walls three feet thick. This building is a heap of 
ruins, a landmark of today. In dimensions it was 
originally 250 feet in length, 125 feet in width and 20 
feet in height. An extensive corral and adobe wall 
enclosure seemed to make the settlement secure. But 
in October, 1834, a band of renegade desert Indians 
under the famous outlaw Chief Cuaka attacked San 
Bernardino, and although every Indian in the settle- 
ment rallied to the defense under the neophyte Indian 
Chief Perfecto, the station was lost and the Indians 
with the padres made a retreat in the night toward 
San Gabriel. They were followed as far as Cuca- 
monga, when the chase was abandoned. The padres 
with indomitable courage returned to San Bernardino 
and reestablished their home. Only for a short time, 
however, for the desert renegades came again and this 
time destroyed the buildings with fire, sacked the 
church of its sacred treasures, and took Padre Estenaga 
prisoner to be held for ransom. The neophyte Indians 
paid his ransom, but the station was forever abandoned 
by the missionaries. 

The buildings were later occupied by incoming set- 
tlers such as Jose Bermudas and family who came to 
the valley in 1836, and constructed a new adobe house. 
June 21, 1842, a grant of land was given by the Mexi- 
can government to the Lugo family. It was called the 
Rancho de San Bernardino and comprised 37,000 acres. 
Jose del Carmen Lugo took possession of the Ber- 
mudas house, while a brother, Vincente Lugo, took up 
residence at La Politana, the first site of the chapel. 
Colonists were invited into the country. A company 



102 CAHUENGA CHAPEL 

came from New Mexico under the command of 
Lorenzo Trujillo and Jose Tomas Salazar. Among 
them were Benito Wilson, who married the daughter 
of Bernardo Yorba, and M. Luis Rubidoux with his 
Mexican wife. These two men became later the owner 
of a tract of land on which the present city of River- 
side is located. Lugo held the San Bernardino Rancho 
until 1850, when it was sold to a colony of 500 Utah 
Mormons for the sum of $7,500, and the old Franciscan 
chapel was used as a tithing house for the proselytes 
of Brigham Young. 

CAHUENGA CHAPEL 

An interesting and historic site is that of the 
Cahuenga Chapel, three miles northeast of Holly- 
wood. It was a very small adobe building about 
twenty by thirty feet in size, with tile roof and porch 
or veranda on the side facing the road. It was the 
chapel for the Cahuenga Rancho and was the meeting 
place for the padres who were in charge at the two 
missions of San Fernando and San Gabriel, and the 
pueblo church of Los Angeles. When the Americans 
under Commodore Stockton, General Kearney and 
Colonel Fremont took possession of California, it was 
at this chapel that the final negotiations between Col- 
onel Fremont and General Andres Pico, brother of Gov- 
ernor Pio Pico, took place and the Treaty of Cahuenga 
was signed. The site, is now marked by a Camino 
Real bell, which was erected by the Hollywood 
Woman's Club, March 12th, 1910. The bell guide- 
post bears the following inscription : 

"Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana, 13 miles. 



CAHUENGA CHAPEL 103 

Site of the asistencia where the treaty of Cahuenga 
was signed January 13th, 1847, by Col. John C. Fre- 
mont and General Andres Pico, whereby California 
became an United States possession." 

The bell was unveiled by Miss Fremont, daughter 
of Colonel Fremont. Addresses were made by Miss 
Fremont, General Beveridge, Col. J. J. Steadman, 
Col. J. B. Lankershim, A. S. C. Forbes and Rev. D. W. 
J. Murphy, who christened the bell "Saria" in honor 
of Fr. Junipero Serra. Miss Fremont spoke as fol- 
lows : 

"One of my father's men told me after my father's 
death, that as they approached the Cahuenga Pass, 
the heralds from the Mexicans came forward. My 
father gave his sword to one of his officers and stepped 
forward to meet Gen. Andres Pico. They then stepped 
aside and held a conference after which they went to 
the house that was then on this spot in which the 
armistice was to be signed. The colonel was a most 
happy man as he rode through the beautiful valley with 
the armistice in his saddlebags, which gave this beau- 
tiful territory to his country." 




-Photo F. H. Taber 



Our Lady of the Angels 



LOS ANGELES 

The Pueblo of Los Angeles was founded September 
4th, 1781, by Governor Felipe de Neve. The site had 
been noted in 1769 by the expedition under the first 
Governor, Don Gaspar de Portola, when he, accom- 
panied by Fr. Juan Crespi and sixty-four volunteers, 
went north from San Diego in search of Monterey. 
On August 2nd the party forded the Rio de Porciun- 
cula, now known as Los Angeles River, and stopped 
in the Indian village of Yang-na. The river was named 
Porciuncula, because on August 2nd the members of 



LOS ANGELES 105 

St. Francis celebrate the feast of Porciuncula, a word 
which literally means a small portion, share or allot- 
ment. The name Porciuncula was originally given to 
a slip of land of a few acres that stood at the foot of 
the hill at Assisi, Italy, and on which stood a little 
chapel called Capella della Porciuncula, and also S. 
Maria-degli-Angeli (Our Lady of Angels). It is the 
chapel to which St. Francis fled when he renounced 
the world. 

In 1781 Governor X eve's Reglamento for the gov- 
ernment of California went into effect, provisionally, 
by order of the Commandante, General Croix, of 
Mexico. It made provisions for the establishment of 
a pueblo on the Rio de Porciuncula, to be called Nues- 
tra Scriora de Los Angeles. According to these regu- 
lations, settlers were to be obtained from older 
provinces and established in California. Each settler 
was to be granted a house-lot and a tract of land for 
cultivation; to be supplied from the beginning with 
the necessary livestock, implements and seeds, which 
advance was to be gradually repaid within five years, 
from the produce of the land. Aside from this the 
settler was to receive an annual sum of $116.50 for 
two years and $60 for the next three, the amount to 
be paid in clothing and other necessary articles at cost 
price. Pasturage, wood and water were to be free. 
And also the settler was to be free from all taxation or 
tithes during that period of five years. 

Captain Fernando Rivera y Moncada, Lieutenant- 
Governor of California, located in Loreto, Lower Cali- 
fornia, was intrusted with the recruiting in Sinaloa 
and Sonoma of soldiers for the presidio at Santa Bai- 
bara, and settlers for the pueblo or town of Los An- 



106 LOS ANGELES 

geles. He was distinctly reminded of a popular idea 
that California wages, while looking well on paper, 
were liable to woeful shrinkage in actuality, and that 
this idea must be dispelled by careful explanation of 
the terms offered and by avoiding exaggeration. The 
settler was to be made to understand that he was to 
receive ten dollars a month and regular rations for 
three years, beginning with the date of enlistment, and 
subject to no discount; but the advance on clothing, 
livestock, seeds and implements was to be repaid from 
the surplus produce from the land. Terms for the 
soldiers were different. 

Rivera recruited seven settlers, and forty-five sol- 
diers. But by the time the expedition was ready to 
travel north the party had evidently dwindled, as later 
reports state that about April, 1781, Rivera left Alamos 
in Sonora, with thirty soldiers and their families, but 
no settlers, proper. He escorted them to the Colorado 
river, where they were met by a detachment sent 
forward from Los Angeles by Governor Neve. Rivera 
relinquished the command to Lieutenant Gonzales 
while he with Sergeant Robles and a detachment of 
nine or ten soldiers remained on the eastern bank of 
the Colorado to rest some livestock and then to pro- 
ceed westward. He and the entire party were mas- 
sacred by hostile Indians while they slept. 

Gonzales, Limon, Arguello, thirty-five soldiers, 
thirty families and the Sonora escort arrived at Mis- 
sion San Gabriel July 14th, 1781. Another party of 
settlers under Lieutenant Jose Zuni^a, probably 
eleven families in all, arrived at San Gabriel August 
18th, but were held in quarantine for a time on ac- 
count of having contracted smallpox. Governor de 



LOS ANGELES 10/ 

Neve gave out instructions August 26th for the found- 
ing of Los Angeles. On September 4th the ceremony 
took place. Twelve settlers and their families, whose 
nationality was a strange mixture of Indian, negro and 
here and there a trace of Spanish, constituted the 
founders of the fairest of all cities — the one 

"That by legend is the claim, 
That a band of angels came, 
And unlocked with heavenly keys, 
Treasures for Los Angeles." 

The angels did not mind the color of the settlers, 
whose names are as follows : Jose de Lara, Spaniard, 
age 50, wife Indian, 3 children ; Jose Antonio Navarro, 
mestizo (of different races), age 42, wife mulattress, 3 
children ; Bastilio Rosas, Indian, age 68, wife mulat- 
tress, 6 children ; Antonio Mesa, negro, age 38, wife 
mulattress, 2 children; Antonio (Felix) Villavicencio, 
Spaniard, age 30, wife Indian, 1 child; Jose Vanegas, 
Indian, age 28, wife Indian, 1 child; Alejandro Rosas, 
Indian, age 19, wife Coyote Indian; Pablo Rodriguez, 
age 25, wife Indian, 1 child ; Manuel Camero, mulatto, 
age 30, wife mulattress ; Luis Quintero, negro, age 55, 
wife mulattress, 5 children; Jose Moreno, mulatto, 
age 22, wife mulattress; Antonio Miranda, chino (from 
China), age 50, 1 child. It is definitely stated that 
Miranda was not a Chinaman, nor even born in China, 
and also that although his name is on the register as a 
pobladore for Los Angeles, he never came to the 
pueblo. Therefore there were but forty-four settlers. 

The site had been selected and the party was accom- 
panied to their new home by Governor de Neve; a 
guard of soldiers who bore aloft the banner of Spain; 
a band of Indian acolytes carrying the cross, and the 



108 



LOS ANGELES 



priests from San Gabriel bearing the banner of Our 
Lady. The location selected for Los Angeles was 
occupied by a small band of Indians called Yang-na, 
quite shiftless, migratory and worthless — according 
to any records that we find. After a ceremony of 
speech making, procession and prayers an allotment 
of land was made. The building lots faced upon a 
plaza laid out as an oblong space, with the four cor- 




Los Angeles, 1786 



-Bancroft 



ners toward the cardinal points. The town was 
thereby on the bias, a fact that is rather good when 
considered from a health standpoint, for each room 
has the benefit and cheer of the sun daily. The original 
plaza was not the one of today, only one corner of 
which touches the old plaza, which began at the south- 
east corner of Marchessault and Upper Main or San 
Fernando, near the church of Our Lady of the An- 
gels ; it continued along the east line of L'pper Main 



LOS ANGELES 109 

almost to Bellevue, thence across to the east line of 
New High street, thence to the north line of Marches- 
satilt and back to the beginning". 

Work began with building palisade huts to be used 
for temporary homes. They were constructed of stakes 
driven into the ground, with poles laid across for the 
frame work, the whole thatched with tules and plas- 
tered with mud. They were comfortable and afforded 
protection even against rain. However, before the 
rains came most of the settlers had built adobe houses 
besides doing their part of municipal work on a dam 
and ditch for water. The dam was run out into the 
river in the vicinity of the Buena Vista bridge and the 
water was diverted into a zanja which carried it to a 
reservoir. There were fresh springs for domestic pur- 
poses. Some of them are in use in the basements 01 
business blocks on Main and Spring streets today. 

Before the pueblo was six months old it was found 
that some of the settlers were worthless and a detri - 
ment to the community. Therefore they were ex- 
pelled. The ones falling under the ban were Jose de 
Lara, the Spaniard; Antonio Mesa and Luis Quintero, 
both negroes, and their families. This action reduced 
the population by sixteen. A few years later Jose 
Antonio Navarro, wife and three children were ex- 
pelled for a similar reason. ]\\ 1785 Jose Francisco 
Sinova applied for admission on the original terms 
and was accepted. About the same time Juan Jose 
Dominguez joined the colony and was given a special 
grant of land by Governor Fages, who had succeeded 
Governor de Neve. This land grant included the pres- 
ent Dominguez Rancho and also the San Pedro 
Rancho. It descended through his brother, Sergeant 



110 LOS ANGELES 

Crisiobal Dominguez, to the present heirs and own- 
ers. For the first three years in Los Angeles there 
was no chapel, and those who wished to attend service 
trudged along El Camino Real to the mission and 
joined the San Gabriel neophytes in Holy Mass. It 
is said that the great Angelus bell when rung loud 
and long at the mission could be heard at the pueblo, 
and when the first bell of morning was rung 

In the early hour of light, 
When the sun was climbing, climbing, 
O'er the mountain tops, combining 
Crystal dewdrops with the night, 

that the settlers would be preparing for their journey 

on horses and in ox-cart to go to the mission, and 

would arrive in time for mass. 

In 1784 the first chapel, which was dedicated to Our 
Lady, Queen of the Angeles, was erected on the south- 
east corner of the first plaza. The river had a very 
different course at that time to the one of the present 
day. It ran very nearly down Main street and for that 
reason it is often stated that the first chapel was lo- 
cated near the river. This chapel was finished in 1789- 
90. There is no record of the dedication. The dimen- 
sions of the chapel were 90x75 feet, and when it became 
too small to accommodate the congregation another 
was built. The plans for it were drawn and accepted 
1811 or 1812, more than a century ago, and they agree 
with the chapel as it stands today. 

At that time Los Angeles, the great and throbbing 
city of today, was but a little Mexican village of thirty 
houses, all small, made of adobe, with roofs con- 
structed of poles thatched with tule and plastered with 
mud, then covered with asphaltum from La Brea 



LOS ANGELES 111 

district. The floors were of pounded earth. Glass 
was unknown and the windows were closed with 
wooden shutters. 

Twelve of the houses ranged about the plaza, the 
rest clustered near by without plan or system. The 
public buildings consisted of a town hall, a public 
granary, a jail, and barracks for the few soldiers al- 
lowed the pueblo from the presidio. Round about the 
pueblo of Los Angeles there were ranchers who had 
received land grants similar to the one given Domin- 
guez, and this rural population increased the census to 
about 500. Writers are prone to call these people idle 
and shiftless, but I find that they owned more than 
6,000 head of cattle, over 2,400 head of horses, 770 
sheep and much other livestock ; that they had vine- 
yards with 53,000 vines, and that they supplied great 
quantities of produce to the Government for the pre- 
sidios, and in fact that they raised all and more than 
there was a market for — so what harm could there be if 
after all their work was done they did idle the re- 
mainder of the time in dance and song? 

Those days of a century ago were simple, earnest, 
prosperous days. People were religious and the town 
clustered about a plaza upon which the chapel always 
faced. When La Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los An- 
geles became too small a donation from the people was 
asked wherewith to build a larger one. Plans were 
drafted and accepted, as above stated. Five hundred 
head of cattle were subscribed, which at $5.00 per 1 
head would have netted $2,500, quite a sufficient sum 
to have constructed this church in those days when 
wages were one real a day and there were many willing 
hands to work for the church for no wages at all. But 



112 LOS ANGELES 

what happened? Governor Pablo Vincente de Sola 
appropriated the cattle with the promise that he would 
return the price of the stock in cash. As there was no 
money in the treasury, no cash was ever given. Work 
progressed slowly. In 1821 Father Payeras, who had 
charge of the building, made an earnest appeal to the 
different missions to make contributions of cattle, la- 
borers or any profitable thing in order that the church 
might be completed. The missions responded most 
generously, among the subscriptions being seven bar- 
rels of brandy, worth $575. This was converted into 
cash, drink by drink, by the citizens, and the building 
was completed the following year. Truly the church 
had a spiritual foundation. 

The church was dedicated December 8th, 1822, and 
from that building the present church was recon- 
structed in 1861. It was virtually rebuilt out of the 
old material. 

One of the bells is said to have been given as a 
penance for a misdemeanor. In 1829 Henry Fitch, a 
handsome American sailor lad, eloped with Dona 
Josefa, the charming daughter of Joaquin Carrillo of 
San Diego. The consent to the marriage had been 
obtained of the parents, but an uncle objected and 
brought the wedding to an abrupt and unsatisfactory 
termination. The priest and Pio Pico, another uncle of 
the bride, advised and assisted in an elopement. The 
young couple were married in South America, and the 
following year returned with a young son. An eccle- 
siastical court was summoned at San Gabriel and 
Henry Fitch was tried for violation of church and 
territorial law. He was. found guilty, and the penalty 
imposed was that he should furnish to the Church of 



LOS ANGELES 113 

Our Lady a bell of not less than fifty pounds weight, 
as the church had but a borrowed bell. Some narrators 
say that he furnished the bell, while others declare 
that he escaped a second time without obeying the 
padres. 

The church and the rectory are in very good re- 
pair. The rectory opens upon an interior court or 
patio, in the center of which rises a stately palm 
that was planted there in the pueblo days. The church 
has an outer court or garden wherein stands a noble 
cross that is outlined by electric bulbs that illuminate 
the garden. Nt-ar by is a Camino Real bell, the first 
one to be erected. Both the cross and the bell are the 
emblems always carried and first planted by Fr. 
junipero Serra and his band of missionaries. 

The Plaza church, as it is generally known, is the 
first and principal landmark of Los Angeles. It has 
been restored by the people of the parish without 
losing its identity and yet has been transformed into 
a commodious house of worship and the rectory into a 
comfortable habitation. 

LANDMARKS 
The Abila House: The old adobe building standing 
a few rods north of the Plaza at Nos. 14, 16, 18 OH vera 
street was the residence of Dona Encarnacion Abila, 
widow of Don Francisco Abila of Las Cienega Rancho. 
During the battle of Los Angeles, which was fought 
January 8th and 9th, 1847, she Med from her home to the 
house of Louis Yignes, as she feared for the safety of 
herself and family should the Americans be victorious. 
Her son-in-law, Lieutenant-Colonel Garfias, was a cav- 
alry officer on the Mexican side under Governor-Gen- 
eral Flores, and had obtained horses for his troops 



114 FORT MOORE 

from her ranch, the San Pascual. Commodore Stock- 
ton was victorious, and when he entered the town he 
found the deserted home near the Plaza wherein he 
camped his troops and appropriated it as his head- 
quarters. The landmark has changed but little in ap- 
pearance since that day. A new roof and a few win- 
dows have been replaced. 

The Bell House: Alexander Bell owned the most 
pretentious house in Los Angeles. It stood at the 
southeast corner of Los Angeles and Aliso streets, 
where the Haas block now stands. As there "was 
nothing too good for John C. Fremont," when he was 
appointed Governor of California by Commodore 
Stockton, he appropriated the Bell house as guberna- 
torial headquarters. Some years ago the old Bell 
house was torn down and a modern brick building 
stands in its place. 

Fort Moore: Fort Moore is only a historic site. 
No part of the fortifications remain, but there is some 
interesting history connected with the old fort, or 
rather two old forts that were built on this site. The 
first one was planned by Lieut. W. H. Emory, top- 
ographical engineer of General Kearney's staff, and 
the work was done by Commodore Stockton's sailors 
and marines. It was not completed nor was it named. 
The second fort was planned by Lieut. J. W. David- 
son of the First U. S. Dragoons, and was built by the 
Mormon Battalion. It was dedicated and named on 
July 4th, 1847, by order of Col. J. B. Stevenson, then 
in command of the southern military district. A para- 
graph in the order is as follows : "The field work at 
this post having been planned and the work con- 
ducted entirely bv Lieutenant Davidson of the First 



FORT MOORE 115 

Dragoons, he is requested to hoist upon it for the first 
time, on the morning of the 4th, the American stand- 
ard." A flag pole one hundred and fifty feet in length 
had been furnished by contract by Juan Ramirez, who 
brought it from Mill Creek, San Bernardino Mountains. 
Ramirez, with a number of carretas, a small army of 
Indian laborers and ten Mormon soldiers as protec- 
tion against the Mountain Indians, brought down two 
tree trunks, one about eighty and the other about 
ninety feet long. They were strapped to the axles 
of a dozen carretas and each drawn by twenty yoke 
of oxen, each with an Indian driver. The carpenters 
among the soldiers spliced the timbers, making a mag- 
nificent pole one hundred and fifty feet high, from 
which the flag swung to the breeze. It was located at 
the southeast corner of what is now North Broadway 
and Fort Moore Place. 

The fort was named in honor of Capt. D. Moore, of 
the First U. S. Dragoons, who lost his life at the 
battle of San Pasqual. After a number of years 
the flag pole fell, the earth works of the fort were 
razed, and the old landmark was a thing of the past. 
In 1903 the Department of California History and 
Landmarks for the State Federation of Women's 
Clubs, Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes chairman, instituted a 
movement to raise another flag pole and flag upon the 
hill to commemorate the days of Stockton and Kearney 
in Los Angeles. Patriotic organizations supplied a 
flag fifteen by thirty feet in size and the Native Sons 
procured a splendid pole one hundred and twenty- 
seven feet long from the forests of Siskiyou. It was 
brought on a lumber schooner to San Pedro and hauled 
from there by team, being too long for the cars. By 



116 EL RANCHITO 

means of a derrick the giant pole was raised under the 
guidance of Mr. Julius Krause, Building Superinten- 
dent, and firmly anchored in a fifteen-foot hole, which 
was then filled in with stones and cement. 

El Ranchito : Home of Pio Pico, last Mexican Gov- 
ernor of California. El Ranchito, little ranch, is two 
miles northwest of Whittier and is an interesting 
landmark. Pio Pico, during his short term as gov- 
ernor, did more harm to California by his indis- 
criminate portioning of the magnificent missions to 
political adherents than did any one or any dozen 
other men. He sold them right and left; he gave 
them away for services rendered the government and 
when they were returned they had been sacked and 
impoverished until the entire mission establishments 
had been ruined. His associations with mission history 
are not pleasant to remember, but the home of this 
political actor is of interest. The dignified name of the 
ranch was La Hacienda del Rancho Paso de Bartolo 
Viejo, but the Governor affectionately called it El 
Ranchito. 

Pio Pico was born at Mission San Gabriel Arcangel 
in 1800. His father was French and his mother Mexi- 
can. He was well educated in the Spanish language 
and the family was of great influence, especially in the 
southern part of the state where they possessed large 
land holdings, cattle and horses. El Ranchito was the 
smallest of his holdings yet it comprised 8,000 acres. 
The property became his in 1832, but the major por- 
tion of the main building had been built as early as 
1826. It is said to have been the first two-story adobe 
built in California. In 1870, according to the recol- 
lection of many persons, the house possessed thirty- 



EL RANCHITO 117 

three rooms arranged around a court which was paved 
with red brick. Boxes of rare plants outlined the 
court and in the center was a well, and a large black 
fig tree — the Don's favorite fruit. North and west of 
the court was an extensive garden of ornamental trees 
and beautiful vines. There was a large Dutch oven, a 
mill, a chapel which was beautifully frescoed ; but all 
are gone. The frescoed walls of the chapel were torn 
down to fill in the approach to a bridge near by. 

In 1867 the greatest flood in the memory of the 
inhabitants swept through the valley and finding the 
main irrigation ditch on El Ranchito an easy outlet, 
the water rushed down through it and the River San 
Gabriel followed, forming a new course. It swept 
away all the beautiful gardens and came within fifty 
feet of the foundation of the house. The devastation 
was never repaired. 

The house with its many rooms was furnished lav- 
ishly with splendid Brussels carpet laid without 
thought of matching the great glaring pattern- -the 
same was done with the large figured wall paper. 
Massive mahogany tables and sofas were ranged round 
the rooms, and huge French mirrors were between the 
windows and doors. The rooms that remain are small 
and all semblance to past grandeur has vanished. Don 
Pio Pico entertained as lavishly as he furnished his 
home and during his short regime as Governor he was 
a favorite. The house is a landmark that the State 
should protect as a historical link between the Mexican 
and American occupations of California. Pio Pico be- 
came Governor of California February 22nd, 1845, and 
although he maintained official headquarters in Los 
Angeles, his home was at El Ranchito. When Com- 




— Photo. G. G. Johnson 



El Ranchito 



modore John D. Sloat became the First American 
Governor under military rule July 7th, 1846, Don Pio 
Pico was compelled to haul down the Mexican flag, 
which he did August 10th, 1847, and in so doing ter- 
minated Mexican official rule in California. As the 
scene of this action El Ranchito is a valuable historic 
relic and landmark. 

El Ranchito, together with six acres of water-bear- 
ing land on San Gabriel River, was purchased some 
years ago by the city of Whittier. In 1906 an organ- 
ization was formed under the title of "The Governor 
Pico Museum and Historical Society." Mrs. H. W. R. 
Strong was elected President. This Society secured a 
fifty years' lease of the house and effected praiseworthy 
repairs, in fact saved it from destruction. 




Cafe Ship Cabrillo 



VENICE 

Venice, the most interesting beach town in Cali- 
fornia, has an ideal location, a charming architectural 
conception and a unique historical association. It 
took an unusual mind to conceive and perfect the 
project of building a city of canals through a waste of 
sand dunes, but that is what Mr. Abbot Kinney has 
done at Venice, with the result that Venice is the 
most beautiful, unique and interesting coast town of 
the State. It lies in a great horseshoe bay with gray 
hills to the north and bluffs toward the south. Wind- 
ward avenue, with its graceful arches and vivid color- 
ing, reminds one of Italy ; the winding canals with 
their gliding, silent gondolas remind one of Venice, and 



120 VENICE 

the teeming, hilarious Zone forces Cairo upon you; but 
still a dominant thought creeps over the mind that after 
all Venice is the one place in California that speaks of 
the native land of Saint Francis, the founder of the 
Order of Friar Minors, the Franciscans ; it reminds one 
of Italy, the California of the Continent. Saint Francis 
was born in Umbria, the Eden of Italy, and not in 
Spain, as one might suppose from the macaronic 
Spanish mission architecture of California, and Span- 
ish music and chants. In fact the mission architecture 
is the outgrowth of climatic conditions in California, 
being similar to the climatic conditions in Italy, not 
Spain, and the mission music and chants are versions 
of the Gregorian chants of Italy. 

Mr. Kinney built an Italian street along true archi- 
tectural lines, Avith arches and colonnades that have 
artistic finish and substantial material, and he builded 
well. He built for the future as did Saint Francis. The 
plan of Venice was to convert the streets into canals 
with gondolas trolled by singing gondoliers ; an audi- 
torium with Chautauquan meetings that stirred the 
intellect to higher education ; a business street that 
softened commercial necessity by artistic association 
with beautiful and perfect architecture. It was no 
fault of Kinney's if the public came to a Chautauqua 
lecture and played truant on the beach. You can lead 
to the fountain, but that is all. He designed a perfect 
town, and so it w r ill become, if for no other reason than 
the charm of the plan and the climate. Venice faces 
directly west, therefore the ocean breeze comes inland 
and not overland. Every foaming ocean breaker 
adds its atom of oxygen to the molecule of air, there- 
fore Venice supplies the 100% ozone-charged air which 



VENICE 121 

is the must perfect tonic known for the human system. 
The winters and the summers are perfect. I have 
lived in Venice, both of Italy and America, and have 
seen the sunset glow on clouds that dazzle the eye, but 
the perfect sunset glow was in America off the shore 
of Venice in California. The dark ridge of low hills 
shouldering out into the bay forms a background for 
the pier at Venice, when you view it from the south. 
The cafe-ship Cabrillo is a thing of beauty when just 
as God's glowing sun-paint grows dim the anchored 
ship is outlined with twinkling, scintillating bulbs of 
electricity which grow into a shower of light and you 
realize that Venice is lighted for the night. 

The amusements at Venice include every kind of 
entertainment. A mammoth plunge and surf bath- 
house; a beautiful dancing pavilion in which free Sat- 
urday afternoon parties are regularly provided for the 
children, and in which special events for the little ones 
are constantly succeeding each other. At holiday time 
a Christmas tree for the children is a spectacularly 
beautiful event. Venice has a privately owned pier, 
along which attractions are kept open throughout the 
year. There is a Race Through the Clouds, a Ferris 
Wheel, a giant safety Racing Coaster, The Rapids. 
The Double Whirl, Joy Wheel, Merry-go-Round, cap- 
tive Aeroplane, Motion pictures, Miniature railroad so 
dear to the hearts of children, trips in launches, row- 
boats, canoes or gondolas over three miles of canals. 
Band concerts are given afternoon and evening. The 
boulevard to the Soldiers' Home was laid out under 
Mr. Kinney's supervision and nine miles of trees along 
the public roads were planted during his administra- 
tion as a road commissioner for that district. 



122 



VENICE 




Abbot Kinney 



The founder of Ven- 
ice, Abbot Kinney, the 
man whose mind saw 
in the sand and swamps 
the mirage of an Italian 
villa, is a tall, dignified, 
plainly garbed, unpre- 
tentious man. Few 
would think him, at 
first sight, to be the 
multi-millionaire foun- 
der and owner of Ven- 
ice. He is a philoso- 
pher and a student of 
every subject of dis- 
tinct value; he is an 
astronomer and dreamer who makes his dreams come 
true. He gave the name of stars to streets, for he 
could read their prediction of success for Venice while 
untutored minds only scoffed. 

Mr. Kinney spent his youth in Washington, D. C, 
where he enjoyed the favored opportunity of the so- 
ciety of statesmen. His education was completed 
abroad. He was a student at Heidelburg, Germany, 
studied in France, Switzerland, Turkey and later 
spent a year in Egypt, arriving in California in 
1880, from which time he has made this his home. 
Broad minded and public spirited, he has devoted the 
knowledge he gained through travel, investigation and 
research to the public benefit. He believes in the 
preservation of forests and conservation of water. 




Canal, Venice 



As a home place Venice can offer charming villa*. 
bordering the canals, or beautiful larger houses facing 
the ocean. There is an excellent grammar school sys- 
tem and a modern polytechnic high school that has 
been built at a cost of $250,000 and has twenty-nine 
acres of grounds. 

The Venice Auditorium seats 3400 people, has <x 
spacious stage and splendid pipe organ. Once a year, 
on the 30th of May, this beautiful hall is transformed 
into a memorial to the sailor-soldier dead. It is draped 
with flags and banked with flowers, which are made 
into forms of ships and life-belts, into anchors and 
capstan, into harps and lyres and crosses that are later 
taken to the end of the pier and cast into the sea in 
memory of those whose bodies went down in ships, 
but whose souls have gone aloft forever. Mr. Kinney 
has exemplified the naval memorial service and made 
it a ceremony of magnificent beauty. 



MISSION SAN FERNANDO, REY DE ESPANA 

Mission San Fernando, twenty-three miles from the 
Plaza in Los Angeles. The route via El Camino 
Real which is along Sunset Boulevard to Hol- 
lywood, thence through Cahuenga Pass to Sherman 
Way, thence along Camino Real de San Fernando, 
which is marked by Mission Bell guide-posts that give 
distances and directions; or by way of the Pacific 
Electric cars, which stop at the door of the mission. 

Mission San Fernando, Rey de Espaiia, founded in 
honor of Fernando III, King of Spain, was estab- 
lished September 8th, 1797, by Fr. Fermin Francisco 
Lasuen, assisted by Fr. Francisco Dumetz. The loca- 
tion was known by the Indians as Achois Comihavit 
and by the Spaniards as the Encino Rancho, where 
Alcalde Francisco Reyes had a house and where he 
kept his own livestock, as well as that of Cornelio Avila 
and others. In the presence of troops from the presidio 
of Santa Barbara, under Sergeant Olivera, and a great 
crowd of natives, Fr. Lasuen conducted the usual 
services and dedicated the new mission. The ranch 
house was converted into a dwelling for the priests, 
Fr. Dumetz and Fr. Francisco Javier Uria. 

As the Encino Rancho is six miles from the present 
location of the Mission San Fernando it is evident that 
the site of the mission was changed as in the case of 
several of the other missions. 

An adobe chapel was built and blessed in December, 
1806. The destructive earthquake of 1812 compelled 
the padres to replace thirty new beams in the walls 
of the chapel. By 1818 a new church was completed, 
the ruins of which are seen today. San Fernando was 



126 MISSION SAN FERNANDO 

a prosperous mission, and reached the highest figure of 
population in 1819 when there were 1,080 enrolled on 
the books. It was secularized in 1835 and between the 
years of 1797 and 1835 the total production of different 
grains was: Wheat, 119,000 bushels; barley, 3,070 
bushels ; corn, 27,750 bushels ; and beans, 3,624 bushels. 
2,837 persons had been baptised, 2,028 buried, and 848 
marriages performed. In 1834 San Fernando became 
a parish church of the second class, with $1,000 salary, 
and all effects were turned over by Fr. Ibarra to An- 
tonio del Valle, who as comisionado took charge of the 
estate. The inventory showed a valuation of $41,714, 
of which $5,000 was in coin and $20,000 in hides and 
tallow. A library of 191 volumes was valued at $417. 
Some of these books were transferred to Mission 
Santa Barbara, but others were actually taken out and 
burned on a pile. There were 9,520 head of livestock 
turned over, and when a second inventory was taken 
six years later, in 1840, the stock had decreased in 
number to 8,860. In 1843 San Fernando was restored 
to the management of the church, but debts had been 
incurred and only about 300 Indians were round about 
the mission. Fr. Bias Ordaz was placed in charge and 
in two years he reported having paid off the debts and 
having bought 120 head of stock. Nevertheless, Gov- 
ernor Pio Pico leased the property to Andres Pico and 
Juan Manso at an annual rental of $1,120. On June 
17th, 1846, Pico sold Mission San Fernando to Eulogio 
de Celis for $14,000, with the agreement that he must 
support the missionary and provide the necessaries for 
divine worship, and also give the Indians the use of the 
lands they occupied during their lifetime. In due time 
the title was declared invalid. 



MISSION SAN FERNANDO 



127 



At present the chapel that was 120 feet long by 18 
feet wide, with thick adobe walls, brick floor, tile roof, 
board ceiling, three doors, and seven windows with 
wooden bars is the most forlorn, tumbled down ruin. 




The only building in any kind of repair is the one in 
which were the monastic rooms, a long low adobe 
building with a corridor running the entire length. At 
the one end is a quaint bell tower and in front is a 
fountain that has been recently restored. 

Old Mission San Fernando stands not far beyond 
the shadows of the Sierra Madre Mountains and over- 
looks a splendid, broad valley of magnificent land that 
required only water to produce every kind of fruit and 
vegetable. Now the valley has the water from the 
Owens River aqueduct. San Fernando Valley was 
annexed to Los Angeles and thereby the old mission 
is in Los Angeles. It is the sixth station on El 
Camino Real. The Native Sons and Daughters of Los 
Angeles county placed a Mission Bell guide-post at the 
mission in 1909. 




San Buenaventura and Santa Barbara Missions 



MISSION SAN BUENAVENTURA 

Mission San Buenaventura is located in the town of 
Ventura and is 71 miles from Los Angeles via El 
Camino Real, the State Highway, an excellent and 
scenic road that is marked by Mission Bell guide- 
posts that give distances and directions. The route* 
leads via Hollywood, Calabasas. Cone jo Pass and 
Camarillo to Ventura. 

The Mission of San Buenaventura was founded on 
Easter Sunday, March 31st, 1782, by Fr. Junipero 
Serra assisted by Fr. Pedro Benito Cambon of San 
Gabriel. It was the last mission that Fr. Serra founded 
and it had been his desire to have it one of the first 
three — the other two being San Diego and Monterey, 
as such had been the arrangements made between Fr. 
Serra and the authorities representing the King of 
Spain. But. owing to the continual misunderstanding 
between the religious and military authorities in Cali- 
fornia the founding of this mission was delayed. Early 
in the spring of 1782 Governor Felipe de Neve an- 
nounced his consent to establishing a new mission at 
the rancheria near the head of the Santa Barbara 
channel. The Indians called the place Zucu ; the ex- 
pedition under Don Rodriguez Cabrillo called it El 
Pueblo de las Canoas, the Portola expedition called it 
Asuncion de Neustra Senora, but Father Serra chris- 
tened it after San Buenaventura, Serafic Doctor, and 
friend of Saint Francis, the founder of the Order of 
Friar Minors. 



130 MISSION SAN BUENAVENTURA 

Fr. Serra traveled south from Monterey in order 
to be present at the ceremonies. He met Governor 
Neve at Mission San Gabriel on March 19th and they 
proceeded to Ventura accompanied by a party of sev- 
enty soldiers with their officers, ten soldiers from 
Monterey with their families, servants and some 
neophytes. At the first encampment the Governor 
received news from Colonel Fages that compelled him 
to leave the party and take with him ten soldiers. 
• Arriving at Zucu the missionaries found a large tribe 
of particularly fine Indians. They lived in cone shaped 
huts worthy the name house, constructed of tule and 
straw. They had great fishing boats made of pine 
boards tied together and plastered over with asphalt- 
um. These boats carried a dozen and even more per- 
sons and went a long distance out to sea. 

The Indians were friendly and assisted the Fathers 
in establishing the mission. A hut was constructed of 
boughs, bells were swung in the trees, an altar was 
raised, a great cross was built and blessed, after which 
Father Serra sang the first mass and preached. The 
Indians assisted the soldiers in building a chapel and 
a house for the missionaries and barracks for the 
guards. These buildings were surrounded by a pali- 
sade and water was brought into the enclosure 
through an irrigating ditch. Within ten years San 
Buenaventura had become one of the most flourishing 
settlements in California. Vancouver, who visited the 
mission in 1793, speaks of the wonderful gardens, the 
fruits and vegetables. He mentions apples, peaches, 
pears, plums, figs, oranges, grapes, pomegranates, 
cocoanut, sugar-cane, bananas, plaintain and even in- 
digo; besides all of the ordinary kitchen vegetables, 



MISSION SAN BUENAVENTURA 131 

roots and herbs. A disastrous fire compelled the mis- 
sionaries to erect all new buildings. The church was 
built of stone and brick. It was begun in 1801 and 
dedicated September 9th, 1809. Material for the mis- 
sion buildings had been brought from the forests of 
San Emidio, Santa Ana and the Ojai. Lime was found 
in the Canada of San Buenaventura, clay from the 
hills near by was moulded into tiles and burnt near the 
mission. The walls were made thick, the ceiling was 
of rough hewn timbers, the floor was of tile and the 
raised pulpit was beautifully carved. The altar was 
sent from the City of Mexico as were some of the pic- 
tures. The mission buildings formed a quadrangle 
within which were the gardens and fountains. A splen- 
did system of irrigation was installed. An aqueduct 
brought water from the mountains and it was stored in 
a concrete reservoir located on the hill just below the 
school house. It was known as the Caballo because 
the water gushed from the open mouth of a stone 
horse's head. The disastrous earthquake of 1812 dam- 
aged the church and many buildings. The tower and 
much of the facade were rebuilt. The whole site of 
Buenaventura settled, and the fear of all sinking into 
the sea frightened the inhabitants away. They fled to 
San Joaquin y Santa Ana, where they remained for a 
year. Here the priests erected a cajal, or Indian hut, 
to be used as a chapel. Upon their return to Ventura, 
the neophytes, under the direction of the Fathers, re- 
stored the buildings to a better condition than they 
were originally. In 1820 the government of Mexico 
owed to Mission San Buenaventura $35,170. There is 
no record that it was ever paid. They had purchased 
supplies from the mission, a cargo of hemp, and were 



132 MISSION SAN BUENAVENTURA 

in arrears in stipends to the Fathers for $6,200. In 
1822 the Indians had individual gardens along the 
banks of the river, where they raised vegetables for 
sale. They labored and might have become self sup- 
porting, but for secularization which came in 1837, 
as the mission establishments sold great quantities of 
produce and supplies to the home government as well 
as supplying their own demands at the missions. 
The mission estate was first leased for $1,630; 
then sold to Jose Arnaz for $12,000, in June, 1846. His 
title, however, was not recognized by the United 
States. The records of San Buenaventura are inter- 
esting. Baptisms 3,857, marriages 1,086, deaths 3,098; 
number of livestock in 1831, 7,240 head. Today the old 
mission chapel is the parish church of Ventura. It is 
all that is left of the once large establishment, but inter- 
esting, for much of it is the original structure. The 
walls, two-storied belfry tower and bells remain as of 
yore ; the roof is restored with shingles instead of the 
original tiles, but otherwise the exterior is virtually the 
old building erected in 1809. The interior is new and 
quite handsomely decorated. Stained glass windows, 
rich altars and frescoing give a finished if not rich 
appearance. 

The Cross and the Bell 

The first great cross erected by the Franciscans on 
the hill back of the city fell and was replaced, but it 
fell again on November 2nd, 1875, during a storm and 
wind. The citizens of Ventura, through their commit- 
tee on landmarks of the Chamber of Commerce, had a 
new cross built and erected on September 9th, 1812. 
On a bronze tablet is the following inscription : 

"In memory of the 200th anniversary of the birth of 



MISSION SAN BUENAVENTURA 133 

Padre Junipero Serra, founder of the Franciscan Mis- 
sions of California, who closed the labors of his useful 
life with the founding of the Mission of San Buena- 
ventura, March 31, 1782, this tablet is placed." 

In memory of the band of ardent missionaries who 
opened the way through the wilderness of the West a 
chain of bells is being erected. One of these stands in 
front of the church of San Bunenaventura that was the 
scene of Fr. Serra's last great work. This mission is 
the ninth station on El Camino Real, the road of the 
missions. The bell was placed there in 1907 by the 
Native Daughters' Improvement Association. When 
the padres came to California they brought with them 
the cross and bells. They swung the bells in the 
branches of trees and rang them to call attention to the 
work they had in hand, that of the betterment and im- 
provement of the body and soul. El Camino Real 
Association of California has planted the bells to call 
attention to the work in hand, that of making the old 
mission road into a perfect road, and the bells mark the 
way so that the traveler may know whit h is El Camino 
Real, the historic road of the missions. 



MISSION SANTA BARBARA 

Mission Santa Barbara, the greatest of the Channel 
Missions, was founded December 4th, 1786, by Fr. 
Fermin Lasuen, who had been appointed President 
of the missions the previous year. The site selected 
was called Taynayam by the natives, and El Pedragoso 
by the Spaniards. It was about one mile distant from 
the presidio, which had been established in 1782 by 
Father Serra. The location of Santa Barbara is the 
most beautiful of all the missions. Back from the 
water's edge nearly two miles, it is situated in the foot- 
hills of the Santa Inez mountains. It was from the 
hills of San Marcos that the great oak beams were car- 
ried by oxen (or perhaps more likely by faithful Indian 
neophytes) and used in the construction of the mission 
buildings. Chief Yanonalit, ruler of the thirteen neigh- 
boring rancherias, proved friendly and persuaded 
Indians to assist in the work, their labor to be paid for 
in articles of clothing and food. This was especially 
the arrangement for work at the presidio. 

The first chapel was constructed of boughs. Within 
a year a church building, 42x15 feet, made of adobe and 
thatched with straw, was completed. Six other build- 
ings of the same material were erected and in 1788 tiles 
were made and all buildings roofed with them. Santa 
Barbara was prosperous from the very beginning. In- 
dians gathered about. the mission and readily accepted 
the faith of the strangers, so much so, that by 1789 it 
became necessary to enlarge the chapel in order to 
accommodate the worshipers, and in 1793 a new and 
much larger building was constructed. 




—Photo, A. S. C. Forbes 
Stairs Leading to Choir Loft, Mission San Gabriel 



MISSION SANTA BARBARA 135 

As the Indian population steadily increased it be- 
came advisable to form a village and build a separate 
house for each family ; in consequence nineteen houses 
were built of adobe in 1798. About the same time a 
piece of land to be used as a garden, orchard and vine- 
yard was enclosed within adobe walls nine feet high, 
3,600 feet in extent, and capped with tile to protect the 
wall from rain. In 1800 the village was laid out in 
streets and cross streets, and there were over fifty 
houses. The neophytes were taught trades, such as 
weaving, carpentering, saddlery, painting, smithery in 
silver and iron, masonry — in fact they were taught to 
be self supporting and to make all things that were 
necessary for their comfort. They worked in the open 
patio and on the broad verandas. The women were 
taught the drawn work of Mexico, and they always 
made baskets. The fields were tilled by the Indians, 
the buildings were built by the Indians, and the irriga- 
tion system was constructed by them under the direc- 
tion of padres and a few imported tradesmen from 
Mexico or Spain. 

In 1807 the town of Santa Barbara had 252 dwellings 
besides the storehouses, all enclosed on three sides by 
a high wall. In 1800 Santa Barbara had dedicated a 
chapel at the station of Sagshpileel, a large rancheria 
near by. This chapel was known as San Miguel. In 
1804 the Mission of Santa Inez was founded because 
of the great influx of Indians to Santa Barbara from the 
north. The number thus withdrawn was over one hun- 
dred. 

The earthquake of 1812 damaged the mission build- 
ings at Santa Barbara, so much so. that the chapel 
was torn down and replaced by a most sub- 



136 MISSION SANTA BARBARA 

stantial stone edifice, the present structure. It was 
begun in 1815 and completed in 1820. It is generally 
considered the most beautiful of the California mis- 
sions. The double towers of Santa Barbara are dis- 
tinctive, as it is the only one of the missions that has 
twin towers. The walls are six feet in thickness, of 
hewn stone strengthened with stone buttresses. The 
church is 170 feet long and 40 feet wide. It has heavy 
cross beams in the ceiling, and cement or bitumen floor. 
A long line of low buildings with arched corridors and 
a beautiful fountain directly in front of them give a 
harmonious and picturesque effect. The buildings 
are in good repair, in fact have been most drastically 
treated with coats of varnish and even whitewash. The 
bell tower and the old bells are of great interest and 
beauty. The east garden, comprising about one acre 
of ground, is a part of the old burying ground and con- 
tains over 4,000 bodies, one grave upon another. But 
it is now a beautiful garden, covered with roses, 
geraniums and some rare plants and trees. Near the 
center is a large crucifix, on which the figure is a white 
plaster cast. 

The living rooms of the priests and novitiates face on 
the inner garden, and it is therefore closed to the 
public. No women are allowed to visit this garden, 
without special permission. Only three have been 
granted this privilege, Mrs. Benjamin Harrison, wife 
of President Harrison ; Princess Louise, Marchioness 
of Lome, and Mrs. William McKinley, wife of Presi- 
dent McKinley. The two former availed themselves 
of the courtesy extended. 

Mission Santa Barbara has many valuable and great- 
ly treasured archives. At the time of the secularization 



MISSION SANTA BARBARA 137 

of the missions many of the records of other missions 
were taken to Santa Barbara for safe keeping, probably 
because it is the only mission wherein the Franciscans 
did not surrender entire control at any time. They are 
in possession today. It was secularized in 1834, but 
the Franciscans steadfastly kept possession. Between 
the years 1786 and 1834 the total number of baptisms 
was 5,679, of which 2,490 were Indian adults, 2,168 
Indian children, and 1,021 children of others than 
Indian parents. There were 1,524 marriages and 4,046 
deaths. The mission was prosperous and wealthy. The 
largest number of animals owned at any one time was 
in 1809, when there were 16,090. The total product of 
wheat was 152,797 bushels; barley, 24,733 bushels; 
corn, 19,084 bushels; and beans, 2,458 bushels. 

In June, 1846, the mission was sold to Richard S. 
Den for $7,500, but the title was declared invalid and 
the property returned to the church. 

In 1852 a petition to establish a Franciscan convent 
or college, with a novitiate for the education of young 
men, was sent to Rome and was granted by the author- 
ities. Santa Barbara Mission was selected for the pur- 
pose. Bishop Thaddeus Amat removed from the mis- 
sion to the parish church, thus leaving the fathers in 
possession. By this arrangement they will have per- 
petual use of the buildings, gardens, vineyard and two 
orchards. 



PRESIDIO OF SANTA BARBARA 



c\ 



' t \ n ,"l ,Ml7 



PLAZA 

330 Feet Square 



rmnrj 



A3 



Plan of Santa Barbara Presidio, 1788 



1, main entrance, 12 ft.; 2, storehouses, 16x61 ft.; 
3, 18 family houses, 15x24 ft. ; 4, false door, roofed, 9 ft. ; 
5, church, 24x60 ft.; 6, sacristy, 12x15 ft.; 7, ensign's 
suite, 3 rooms; 8, commandant's suite, 4 rooms ; 9, 15 
family houses, 15x27 ft.; 10, chaplain's 2 rooms; 11, 
sergeant's house, 16x45 ft. ; 12, quarters and guard- 
room ; 13, corrals, kitchen and dispensa of ensign; 14. 
corrals, kitchen and dispensa of commandant; 15, 
chaplain's corral; 16, western bastion; 17, eastern 
bastion ; 18, corrals. 



PRESIDIO OF SANTA BARBARA 139 

The Presidio of Santa Barbara was established in 
1782 by Governor de Neve, who came from Mission 
San Gabriel accompanied by about sixty soldiers. He 
was met at Ventura by Fr. Serra, who had founded the 
Mission of San Buenaventura on March 31st, and to- 
gether they marched along the shore a distance of 
about nine leagues to the Indian settlement called 
Yanonalit. The chief was friendly and the strangers 
decided to build a fort upon an elevation overlooking 
the shore. The Indians assisted in the erection of a 
hut which was to serve as a chapel. On April 21st, 
1782, Fr. Serra blessed the site and the cross, after 
which he celebrated mass and preached a sermon. This 
was the beginning of the Presidio of Santa Barbara. 

Work was begun at once to fell oak timbers for a 
permanent chapel, priest's houses, store-houses, bar- 
racks and palisade enclosure. Indians assisted in the 
work and were paid in articles of clothing. The chief, 
Yanonalit, had authority over thirteen rancherias of 
Indians and his friendship was of great value. 

Fr. Serra remained at the presidio for some time, or 
until he learned that the Governor had no intention of 
establishing the mission at this time, when he sent for 
a priest to come from Capistrano, and he repaired to 
Monterey. It is sad to relate that the Mission of Santa 
Barbara was not founded during the lifetime of Fr. 
Serra, w r ho had been so deeply interested in the work 
at this point on account of the great number of Indians. 

Lieut Jose Francisco Ortega w r as appointed com- 
mandant, as well as habilitado, and retained the posi- 
tion until 1784, when he was succeeded by Lieut. Felipe 
de Goycoechea, who served until 1804. Under these 
two lieutenants work was pushed on the presidio build- 



140 PRESIDIO OF SANTA BARBARA 

ings in a very deliberate Hispano-California manner. 
The soldiers and Indians made adobe and tiles, they 
hewed timbers, made shell lime and gathered sand. In 
this they were assisted by some thirty sailors, who 
came from time to time on vessels from San Bias. 
However, it is stated that the soldiers and officers con- 
tributed about $1,200 for the work between the years 
of 1786 and 1790, which sum was later returned to them 
as a gratuity. In September, 1788, Goycoechea sent 
the accompanying plan of the presidio to Governor 
Fages, but at the time the western line of houses were 
not roofed and the outer walls were not yet begun. 
Within two years three sides of the main wall had been 
built. 

The force maintained at the presidio was from fifty 
to fifty-four privates, two corporals, two or three ser- 
geants, an ensign and a lieutenant. From ten to fifteen 
of these men were stationed at Mission San Buena- 
ventura, fifteen at Mission La Purisima, from three to 
six at Mission Santa Barbara — after those missions had 
been established. Two were generally stationed at 
Los Angeles. The white population of this presidial 
district was about three hundred and sixty persons. In 
a report dated December 31st, 1785, there is given 67 
male heads of families as living at the presidio as in- 
habitants with their families. A similar report gives 
an expense account as follows : Average payroll, 
$13,000; management, $14,000; supplies, $12,000; com- 
missary account, including a balance of goods on hand, 
$26,000. But the report does not state the length of 
time covered by this average. 



SANTA BARBARA 

Santa Barbara, one of the most beautiful cities of 
the West, lies in the shadow of the Santa Inez moun- 
tains and by the channel of the sea. It is one hundred 
miles west of Los Angeles. This channel was visited 
by the Spanish expedition under Gen. Don Sebastian 
Vizcaino on the 3rd of December, 1602, and that being 
the eve of the feast day of Santa Barbara, virgin and 
martyr, the place was named in honor of the saint by 
Fr. Antonio de la Ascencion. Therefore the history of 
Santa Barbara dates from 1602, although no other 
explorers visited its hospitable shores until 1769, when 
the Portola expedition camped there and Fr. Juan 
Crespi, who accompanied Portola, gave description of 
the beauties of the channel scenery. In 1782, after 
Mission San Buenaventura had been founded, Gover- 
nor Felipe de Neve came on to Santa Barbara to estab- 
lish a presidio in the channel district, for the protection 
of the missions in that region. The party consisted of 
about sixty soldiers and was accompanied by Fr. Juni- 
pero Serra, who was under the impression that a mis- 
sion was to be established at the same time. Not 
so; only the presidio was begun, and the mission was 
not founded during Fr. Serra's lifetime, greatly to his 
disappointment. De Neve found the site of the present 
Santa Barbara occupied by a large settlement of In- 
dians called Yanonalit. They were friendly Indians 
and allowed the strangers to select a location on a 
slight elevation for a fort, and then assisted them to 
build it. A large cross was erected, a hut constructed 



142 SANTA BARBARA 

to serve as a chapel, and an altar prepared in order that 
mass should be said the following day, which was the 
21st of April, 1782. (Some authorities give the date as 
April 29th.) Fr. Serra blessed the cross and the site 
and then preached a sermon. This was the beginning 
of Santa Barbara. Work was commenced at once on 
felling timbers of oak for the construction of a perma- 
nent chapel, priest house, storeroom, barracks and 
palisade enclosure. Chief Yanonalit was a superior 
Indian and proved of great assistance by persuading 
his Indians to work like the Spaniards. They received 
payment in food and clothing. In 1786 the mission was 
founded about a mile away from the presidio, and the 
Indian town of neophytes clustered round about the 
mission, not at the presidio. Therefore after the 
secularization of the mission and the abandonment of 
the presidio, the town of Santa Barbara dwindled into 
an idle Mexican hamlet, with nothing to break the 
monotony, for it was not a military station. Santa 
Barbara being one of the principal missionary estab- 
lishments, it would seem that it should have 
received greater attention from the secular authori- 
ties, at least equal to that given Monterey, San 
Francisco and San Diego, but such was not the case. 
Until 1834 it was only a mission town ruled by the 
padres. In 1846 the mission was sold to Richard Den 
for $7,500, the Indians had dispersed, and Santa Bar- 
bara mooned on the bay, waiting her opportunity. She 
would probably yet be sleeping in her quiet monastic 
robe had not some energetic American pointed out the 
way to progress. It was not a difficult task for the right 
man, for as soon as the world knew of the beauty, 
charm and advantages it was losing by passing by 



SANTA BARBARA 



143 




J. A. 



Johnson 

just such a 



beautiful Santa Barbara, it 
paused and took notice. The 
energetic American who 
made the world know Santa 
Barbara was Joseph Asbury 
Johnson. He arrived there 
in 1866 and saw at once the 
beauty and opportunity that 
awaited this charming place. 
He understood the town and 
the people, he was a man of 
education and culture, of 
keen perception and great 
executive ability. He came prepared for 
problem. He was an organizer and an instructor, had 
established two high schools, those of Bloomington 
and Decatur, Illinois, and had served as their principal. 
But his greatest advantage lay in the fact that he had 
studied theology, could appreciate the standards taught 
by the padres, and realized the moral attitude of a mis- 
sionary town that had been deprived of the sustaining- 
guidance of its religious leader ; moreover, he delighted 
in literary work, having learned printing and risen to 
fill the editor's chair. Could anyone have been more 
qualified to introduce Santa Barbara to the world? Mr. 
Johnson was a gifted speaker with a personality that 
made people flock to his standard. This was proven 
when, after he had established the Santa Barbara 
Press, erected the Press building and installed the first 
power printing press in use south of San Francisco, 
and had given a banquet to celebrate the occasion, he 
was in turn presented with a bag of gold containing 



144 SANTA BARBARA 

Sl,925 ottered by the citizens of Santa Barbara as a 
testimonial of their appreciation of his public service 
in proclaiming through his journal the beauties of their 
city. Prompted to greater things, he soon after issued 
the first illustrated newspaper ever published in Cali- 
fornia, paying $250 for one large engraving of Santa 
Barbara made for him by artists of Scribner's Maga- 
zine. The following year, 1874, he prepared for a lec- 
ture tour through the East. He had lantern slides made 
from photographs of characteristic views, such as 
orchards, vineyards, grain fields, towns, old missions, 
waterfalls and ocean breakers, at a cost of more than 
$500. With this splendid equipment he lectured in the 
principal cities and towns from Chicago to Boston. 
People were entertained and delighted and Santa Bar- 
bara was advertised. Interest was aroused and the 
stream of travel started which has since built up that 
region. 

But those were not all balmy days for Mr. Johnson. 
In the early years he was opposed by a disorderly class, 
who tried to dominate the town, both in politics and 
business. He fearlessly opposed them, and for his 
pains his property was destroyed, his printing office 
burned, and his life threatened. He was attacked and 
beaten in the streets by a gang of ruffians. But the 
better element always supported him. He won popu- 
larity in the community through his knowledge of 
agriculture, and was the first editor to urge the culture 
of the olive by modern methods. In 1876 he sold the 
Press and went with his family to the Centennial at 
Philadelphia. He was one of the judges and also official 
historian of the Exposition. After devoting a year to 
the historical work his manuscripts were sealed up 



SANTA BARBARA 145 

with other mementoes in Memorial Hail to be kept a 
hundred years, the vault to be opened in 1976. Un- 
doubtedly there was something good about Santa 
Barbara that crept into those records. 

Using the same stereopticon views, Mr. Johnson 
lectured again throughout the East, and upon request 
appeared before the American Geographical Society. 
Returning to California he founded the Oakland Daily 
Times. His business interests kept him from returning 
to Santa Barbara, greatly to the detriment of the town 
and the regret of his many friends. His keen delight 
in journalism kept him connected at all times with 
newspapers and magazines, and his broad experience 
and gifted pen made him a popular writer. This talent 
is inherited by his daughter, Mrs. Lillian Ferguson, 
associate editor of "Sunset" magazine, whose clever 
writing, literary ability and executive qualities prove 
the value of heredity. His son, Carlton H. Johnson, 
has also made a record in publication work, both in 
private enterprise and in the service of the State of 
California. 

We dwell with great pleasure on the history of the 
missions, founded by the padres, but how few of us 
think of the men like Jospeh Asbury Johnson with his 
foundation work for modern Santa Barbara, or the 
Smileys and their work for Redlands, the Millers of 
Riverside, the Kinneys of Venice, the Crofts of Pas- 
adena, the Hortons of new San Diego, the Bidwells of 
Chico, or Sutter of Sacramento ! Yet the ability, fore- 
sight and optimism of men and women like these con- 
stitute the quality and force that has made modern Cal- 
ifornia. 



/^TfTnrmnTnxrr* 




MISSION SANTA INEZ 

Santa Inez, the nineteenth mission to be founded in 
California, is located at the entrance of a valley called 
by the Indians Alajulapa, or Maljalapu. The valley 
lies between the Santa Inez and San Rafael Mountains 
and is one of the most fertile and beautiful spots in the 
State. The mission is forty-five miles north west of 
Santa Barbara and lies w T ithin a stone's throw of the 
main State highway, El Camino Real. 

Santa Inez was founded September 17th, 1804 by 
Fr. Estevan Tapis, assisted by Fr. Marcelino Cipres, 
Fr. Jose Antonio Calzada and Fr. Jose Romualdo 
Gutierrez. Commandant Carrillo was present and also 
a large number of neophytes from both Santa Barbara 
and La Purisima, many of whom had come to remain 
at the new mission. Substintial buildings were soon 
erected and the establishment speedily became an im- 
portant station. The earthquake of December 21st, 
1812, ruined all of the mission roofs, cracked the walls 
and tore down one corner of the church. About one- 



.MISSION SANTA INEZ 147 

fourth of the new houses that had just been completed 
were ruined. A granary was constructed and used as a 
temporary chapel. In 1815 a new church was begun. 
It was built of adobe and lined with bricks, and was 
dedicated July 4th, 1817. It is the remains of that 
building that is seen today. In 1829 Santa Inez was 
likened in appearance to Santa Barbara. In front was 
a large brick enclosure used for bathing and washing. 
to the right were gardens and orchards, to the left 
were Indian huts and tiled houses. On Sunday, Febru- 
ary 21st, 1824 a widespread revolt among the Indians 
of Santa Barbara county occurred. The trouble started 
at Santa Inez where the miscreants set fire to the mis- 
sion buildings and it is generally believed that great 
damage was done, but there is little if any detail given 
concerning the raid. It was necessary to call out the 
soldiers to quiet the trouble. The Indians then fled to 
La Purisima where they destroyed almost the entire 
mission. 

Santa Inez was secularized in 1836. An inventory 
showed a valuation of $56,437, which sum included the 
church property, worth about $11,000. The church 
ornaments were valued at $6,251 and the library of 66 
volumes at $188. During the time of the mission con- 
trol, which was only 30 years, the records show 1,372 
baptisms, 409 marriages and 1,271 deaths. The 
largest number of cattle owned at any one time was 
in 1831 when there were 7,300 head. Their banner year 
was 1820 when there were 12,250 head of stock, includ- 
ing all kinds of animals. The total yield of wheat was 
63,250 bushels ; barley, 4,024 bushels ; corn, 39,850 bush- 
els ; and beans, 4,340 bushels. Three years after secu- 
larization the report gives a splendid showing — the 



148 MISSION SANTA INEZ 

padres had remained in charge — there were over 12,000 
head of stock at the mission and a population of 183. 

In 1844 Bishop Garcia Diego resolved to establish 
an ecclesiastical seminary at Santa Inez. He instructed 
Fr. Jose Joaquin Jimeno and Fr. Francisco de Jesus 
Sanchez to obtain from the government a grant of land 
for the purpose, together with a regular annual ap- 
propriation of money for expenses. On March 16th, 
1844 a grant of six leagues of land was conveyed to the 
Bishop, and the sum of $500 annually was assigned by 
Governor Micheltorena on condition that every Cali- 
fornian in search of higher education be admitted into 
the institution. On May 4th the seminary was formally 
declared open for the reception of students. Notwith- 
standing this advancement and effort at progress at 
Santa Inez, Governor Pio Pico rented out the entire 
mission estate to Jose Cavarrubius and Joaquin Car- 
rillo for $580 per year, and June 15th, 1846, sold the 
mission to these lessees for $7,000. The seminary 
maintained a precarious existence until 1850 after 
which date it was abandoned and the padres went to 
Santa Barbara. The title of sale was later declared 
invalid and the property returned to the church but 
not until the elements and vandals had played havoc 
with the grand old monument of Christian endeavor, 
which the workers had thought would be permanent. 
They had built the walls six feet thick that it might 
sustain the roof of tile that rested on great hand-hewn 
rafters that were brought from the heights of the San 
Rafael mountains. The tiled floors and broad veranda, 
the heavy doors and deep windows all bespoke perma- 
nence, but alas, a long interim of neglect will destroy 
any building and as for adobe, it must be protected 



MISSION SANTA INEZ 149 

from rain and moisture or it crumbles like mud pies. 
Such was the case with grand Santa Inez. There had 
been twenty arches forming the. veranda in front of the 
convento or living rooms of the mission. Ten of these 
had fallen and the roof had tumbled in, the floor was 
broken and the place a habitation of owls and reptiles 
when Rev. Alexander Buckler was given the charge of 
administering to this neglected parish, and was ex- 
pected to make of this ruin a home-place. He has 
done so. With the meager sum of $3,000 in money and 
a wonderful pair of willing hands and a stout heart in 
his body, Fr. Buckler cleaned out, repaired and made 
habitable old Santa Inez. Before he had his work com- 
plete winter rains almost undid his efforts. The bell 
tower fell and other parts crumbled because the rain 
reached the adobe. But all undaunted Fr. Buckler 
went to work again and restored the bell tower at an 
outlay of between $700 and $1,000 which was donated 
by the Grand Parlor of the Native Sons of the Golden 
West. The Bishop of this diocese supplied further 
funds for repairs and now Santa Inez is comparatively 
safe, but it should be made perfectly so. Fr. Buckler 
was pleased to receive a Camino Real bell guide-post 
from Los Angeles District of Women's Clubs when 
they met in Santa Barbara in 1914. He erected it on 
El Camino Real, the old mission road, and dedicated it 
with fitting and impressive ceremonies. 



MISSION LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION 

Mission La Purisima Concepcion was founded De- 
cember 8th, 1787, by Fr. Fermin Francisco Lasuen, in 
honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed 
Virgin. It is situated near the Santa Inez River at a 
place called by the Indians Algsacupi. Owing to the 
rains the permanent buildings were not erected until 
March the following year. Fr. Vincente Fuster and 
Fr. Jose Arroita were left in charge and within four 
months they had enrolled seventy-nine neophytes. In 
1795 a new church of adobe was commenced and dedi- 
cated in 1802. It was commodious and had a tile roof. 
In 1804 Fr. Mariano Payeras was stationed at La Pur- 
isima and by 1810 he had completed a catechism and 
manual of confession in the Indian language. This was 
of great advantage to the neophytes in their study of 
religion, but so zealous had the missionaries been in 
this locality that there were no more Indians nearer 
than twenty-five miles away to be converted. 

In 1815 Father Payeras became president of the 
California missions, but he continued to reside at Pur- 
isima, instead of repairing to San Carlos del Carmelo. 
Early on the morning of December 12, 1812, a violent 
earthquake shook the church walls out of plumb, a sec- 
ond shock about 11 o'clock destroyed the chapel com- 
pletely, and nearly all of the mission buildings, besides 
about 100 of the neophyte houses. Rents in the earth 
from which black sand and water oozed added to the 
peril. Fluts of wood and grass were erected for tem- 
porary use. Later the mission was moved to a posi- 



MISSION LA PURISIMA 151 

tion further up the river. The first church building 
erected here was destroyed by fire and another one 
erected and dedicated October 4, 1825, the remains o\ 
which are to be seen today. It is a long, low structure, 
and had twenty-one rooms. There were twelve smaller 
buildings about it. The church ornaments were valued 
in 1834 at nearly $5,000; the library at $655 ; there were 
rive bells, worth $1,000. In fact, the mission property, 
live-stock and ranchos were valued at over $60,000. In 
1845 it was sold by the Governor to John Temple for 
$1,110; and La Purisima was abandoned by its rightful 
owners, the Indians and the padres. 

Mission La Purisima is near Lompoc and is in ruins. 
Through some strange circumstance the property, 
though church property, and supposedly may not be 
sold, has been transferred to a local oil company and 
by them offered to the State of California provided the 
State will restore it along the original lines — as a 
landmark. At the present time the State has not ac- 
cepted the charge. 

On the one hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of 
the founding of La Purisima a large cross w T as erected 
by the people of Lompoc. At the same time a Camino 
Real bell guide-post was presented and erected by the 
Native Sons and Daughters of Santa Barbara as an 
act of co-operation in historic and landmark's work. 




MISSION SAN LUIS OBISPO DE TOLOSA 



The Mission lies in the heart of the town of San Luis 
Obispo. On September 1st, 1772, Father Junipero Serra, 
assisted by Fr. Jose Cavalier, five soldiers and a few 
Lower California Indians founded Mission San Luis 
Obispo de Tolosa, the fifth mission in California, in 
honor of Saint Louis, Bishop of Tolouse. The site 
selected was known by the Indians as Tixlini, but was 
called by the Spaniards, Canada de los Osos, Valley of 
the Bears — as upon the first journey made by the 
Spaniards through this district on their way from 
Sain Diego to Monterey they shot several large bears. 

When Fr. Serra founded the mission he was on his 
way south to San Diego. He left the lone missionary, 
four soldiers and only two Lower California Indians 
to begin the new mission. But what was more remark- 
able still is the small quantity of supplies that were 
left for them to attempt to accomplish such a work. 



MISSION SAN LUIS OBISPO 153 

The total list was fifty pounds of flour, three pecks of 
wheat, and a barrel of brown sugar or panoche, a coarse 
sugar made by the native Indians of Mexico and called 
by them azucar. As all Indians love sweet meats, this 
barrel of panoche was intended for use in bartering 
with them for further supplies. They proved 
friendly, and supplied the missionary with veni- 
son, seeds and wild berries, and in many ways 
helped the -padre. A little chapel and dwelling were 
soon erected. Father Cavalier remained alone at his 
post for one year. Then four immigrant families and a 
few unmarried Christians came to San Luis Obispo to 
make it their home. In November 1776, the buildings, 
except the chapel and granary, were destroyed by fire, 
the Indians having thrown burning arrows upon the 
tule roofs. Twice again in ten years the buildings were 
on fire from the same cause. For this reason tiles were 
adopted for roofing at all of the missions, instead of 
the dangerous but economical tules. An adobe church 
was finished in 1793; other spacious buildings, such as 
barracks, a missionary's house, work-room, guard 
house, granary, etc., were added the following year. 
Huts for the natives were comfortable and well built. 
A trained blacksmith, a carpenter and a millwright 
were sent to San Luis Obispo to instruct the Indians. 
Fr. Cavalier served the mission until the time of his 
death, which occurred December 9, 1789. He had 
several different associates and successors. Of the 
latter Fr. Antonio Martinez receives special mention in 
the records. He w r as outspoken and independent, 
but labored long and earnestly for the welfare 
of this mission. He learned the Indian language 
and gave assistance, both to the troops and to 



154 MISSION SAN LUIS OBISPO 




Restored 

other missions. Squirrels and locusts were extremely 
troublesome and one crop was entirely eaten up by 
mice. In the inventory taken 1836, an item is made of 
the library and musical instruments, $519, and the total 
valuation was given at $70,779. On September 10th, 
1842, Governor Alvarado ordered the lands divided 
among the neophytes ; and two years later the mission 
was formed into a pueblo. The chapel was sold the 
following year (1845) to Scott, Wilson & McKierey for 
$510. However, Governor Mason ordered the property 
returned to the Catholic Church. 

The old adobe building with its very charming pillars 
and plain but pleasing chapel has been entirely encased 
within a mask of wood. It really seems a pity that 
when people start to restore these glorious old relics 
of California's splendor that they seem to do it with 
a vengeance — in truth a vengeance— as if they had a 
spite against the grand old buildings and were intent 
in either covering them up, as in this instance, or in 
changing the original plan, that modern ideas or de- 
sires may prevail. 

Mission San Luis Obispo is lost so far as any 



MISSION SAX LUIS OBISPO 



155 



historic value is concerned, for it has been restored be- 
yond recognition. San Luis has now a steeple and a 
shingled roof ; however, there are many interesting 
relics stored within the chapel, such as a statue of the 
patron saint and historic and even legendary candle- 
sticks. The mission stands directly on El Camino 
Real. A bell guide-post erected by San Luisita Parlor, 
Native Daughters of the Golden West, has a conspicu- 
ous place near the entrance and causes the stranger to 
pause and read on the sign that this modern looking 
building is a rehabilitated old mission chapel, and then 
they go in to find out about it. 




Members of San Luista Parlor, N. D. G. W. 



MISSION SAN MIGUEL ARCANGEL 

Mission San Miguel Arcangel is located in the ex- 
treme northern part of the county of San Luis Obispo. 
It is nine miles north of Paso Robles and is directly on 
the State highway, El Camino Real. 

Mission San Miguel Archangel was founded by Fr. 
Fermin Francisco Lasuen and Fr. Buenaventura Sit- 
jar July 25th, 1797. The 25th of July is the feast day 
of St. James, but as Mission San Diego had been given 
the name of San Diego (St. James) this mission was 
named San Miguel, and placed under the protection of 
Saint Miachel Archangel, the most glorious prince of 
the heavenly militia. 

The site chosen was a beautiful spot on the Salinas 
river, called by the Indians Vahia or Vatica but which 
was named by the Spaniards Las Pozas. Fr. Lasuen 
says in his account of the ceremonies, which were held 
under the wide-spreading branches of an old oak tree, 
that a great multitude of Indians gathered about with 
pleased expressions while he held the first service. 
Bells were rung, water blessed, a great cross erected 
and venerated, the Litany of the Saints was intoned, 
mass sung and a sermon preached. The service was 
closed with the singing of the Te Deum. Fr. Sitjar 
and Fr. Antonio de la Concepcion Horra, a new comer 
of 1796, were appointed missionaries. Fifteen Indian 
children were baptized the first day. A wooden church 
with mud roof was soon erected. It was replaced with 
the present structure in 1800. At the end of 1800 the 



158 MISSION SAN MIGUEL 

converts had increased to 385. Fr. Sitjar and Fr. Horra 
had been relieved and Fr. Martin and Fr. Carnicer 
appointed in their place. In 1801, three Indians at- 
tempted to poison Friars Martin and Carnicer. 
Fr. Pujol, who came from San Carlos to attend the 
sick missionaries, was also poisoned, and died, while 
the two whom he came to minister unto recovered. In 
1806 a fire occurred, which destroyed all the imple- 
ments belonging to the mission, all of the raw material, 
large quantities of wool, hides, cloth and 6,000 bushels 
of wheat ; besides doing great damage to the build- 
ings. The other missions contributed to the relief of 
the burned San Miguel. The largest enrollment at this 
mission was in 1814, when there were 1,076. Total 
number of baptisms were 2,588, and the largest num- 
ber of cattle owned at one time was 10,558, in 1822. 
All this bespeaks the prosperity of the establishment. 
In 1819 Father Cabot made a safe journey into the 
valley of the Tulares, a thing quite unusual, and a 
proof of the safety of the country at that period. When 
the Indians of San Miguel were consulted regarding 
the scheme of secularization, they expressed them- 
selves as decidedly in favor of the missionary fathers 
and their system. Their preference was of no avail, 
and the mission was confiscated in 1836, with a valua- 
tion of $82,000. By 1845 all property had disappeared, 
except the buildings, valued at $5,800, which were or- 
dered sold by Governor Pico. The sale was made July 
4th, 1846, P. Rios and William Reed being the pur- 
chasers. Later the title was declared invalid, and the 
buildings restored to the church. 

Mission San Miguel is now one of the most interest- 
ing missions of California, principally because of the 



MISSION SAX MIGUEL 159 

artistic and beautiful interior decorations. The exter- 
ior is plain, the corridor has irregular pillars and arches, 
the monastic rooms are plain and small, some of them 
are in good repair and are occupied by the resident 
priest. The chapel is in good repair and the original 
decorations have been preserved. They were undoubt- 
edly the work of a Spanish artist. The fresco is in 
designs of great panels with an elaborate frieze. The 
pillars separating the panels are in blue and represent 
fluted columns ; the space between is decorated with 
curved lines and conventional leaves. The frieze rep- 
resents a gallery with railing and short pillars. The 
altar is a valuable piece of decorative work as repre- 
sentative of the best art of the mission period of Cali- 
fornia. The most attractive part of the decorations is 
the great shell painted in delicate shades of green and 
pink, that covers the major portion of the wall oppo- 
site the pulpit. This decoration is in honor of Saint 
James, as the shell is the attribute of that Saint. The 
pulpit is of interest, but not at all attractive. There 
are many beautiful robes and some interesting relics 
in possession of the mission. The splendid state of 
preservation of the building, the robes, the decorations 
and the general surroundings is due to the energy and 
care of Rev. W. A. Ncvin, rector of the parish. Fr. 
Nevin was able to arouse sufficient interest in the 
patriots of the parish to enable him to erect, two memor- 
ials, at a cost of nearly three hundred dollars outside 
the expenses of the celebration, over the graves of the 
founder of the present church and his associate, the 
Frs. Juan Francisco Martin and Marcelino Cipres. 
The memorials were dedicated November 13th, 1914; 
Gregorian chants were given by a choir of Franciscan 



loO MISSION SAX MIGUEL 

priests; fifty candles burned at the altar and shed 
their soft light over the sanctuary ; a historical address 
and sermon was given and the memorials unveiled dur- 
ing the singing of the chant Miserere Mei Deus. 

At the close of the ceremony the clergy, headed by 
the cross-bearer and acolytes, marched in procession 
singing Te Deum Laudamus and followed by all the 
large congregation, to the corner of Mission and Fif- 
teenth Streets, a short distance away, where a Camino 
Real bell guide-post was dedicated and christened El 
Arcangel. The bell was another link in the chain that 
bound together the Franciscan Missions, the Pater 
Nosters in Fr. Serra's Rosary — El Camino Real. It 
had been donated and was erected by the Native Sons 
and Daughters of San Miguel. 



The Grizzly Bear 

Official Organ of the 

Native Sotis and Daughters of the Golden West 

A Monthly Magazine Devoted to all California 



Office: 
246-248 Wilcox Building, Los Angeles 

CLARENCE M. HUNT 

Manager and Editor 

One Dollar per year in advance 
-1 magazine that should be in everybody's home 



MISSION SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA 

Mission San Antonio de Padua is the most isolated 
of all the missions. It does not lie near a rail road nor 
has it been included as a station upon the main high- 
way. It is in the southern part of Monterey County 
and is six miles from Jolon, or 20 miles from King 
City, at which point an automobile bus run by Mr. E. 
J. Dutton of Jolon meets the trains daily. He will con- 
duct passengers to and from the mission. Comfortable 
accommodation is furnished at the hotel at Jolon, of 
which Mr. Dutton is proprietor. The trip is one of 
the most interesting in the State. 

Mission San Antonio de Padua, the third mission es- 
tablished in California, was founded July 14th, 1771, 
under rather interesting circumstances, by Fr. Juni- 
pero Serra assisted by Fr. Miguel Pieras and Fr. Buen- 
aventura Sitjar. Fr. Serra had founded Mission San 
Carlos de Monterey but not being satisfied with the 
location he sought another site, that of Carmel, and 
while Indians and soldiers were engaged in hewing 
timbers for Mission Carmel, the good man went in 
search of a proper location wherein to establish an- 
other mission to be named San Antonio de Padua. Ar- 
riving at a beautifully oak-studded glen under the 
shadow of the Santa Lucia mountains and watered by 
the Salinas River, the missionaries hung bells in the 
trees and rung them long and loud, Fr. Serra wildly 
shouting all the while, "Come gentiles, come to the 



162 MISSION SAN ANTONIO 

holy church; come and receive the faith of Jesus 
Christ !'" Fr. Pieras reminded Serra that there was not 
an Indian in sight and it was useless to tire himself 
shouting or to ring the bells any longer. Fr. Serra re- 
plied, "Let me satisfy the longings of my heart, which 
desire that this bell might be heard all over the world, 
as Mother Agrade wished ; or at least the gentiles who 
dwell about these mountains may hear it." 

A great cross was built and erected, an enramada, — ■ 
hut of boughs — was constructed to serve as a chapel, 
an altar was decorated as best they could and Fr. Serra 
then said the first mass in honor of Saint Anthony de 
Padua, the Patron Saint of the new mission. The ring- 
ing of the bells had attracted the attention of an In- 
dian, who instead of hiding in fright as the Indians had 
at the founding of the other two missions, he remained 
to witness the ceremony of dedication, and later 
brought his companions in large numbers to meet the 
padres. They brought with them as an offering pine- 
nuts and seeds, all they had to give. The Indians aided 
in the work of building a church, barracks, and a house 
for the missionaries, all surrounded by a palisade. The 
temporary structures were made to serve until after a 
crop of grain had been planted. Fr. Serra remained 
fifteen days and then returned to Carmel, leaving a 
guard of six soldiers under a corporal to assist and 
defend the two missionaries who were left in charge. 
Fr. Sitjar and Pieras began at once the study of the 
Indian language and within a month they had been 
able to reach the understanding of one of the Indians 
who had consented to be baptized. 

San Antonio became noted for its piety, prosperity 
and its superb horses. The beauty of the horses was 



MISSION SAX ANTONIO 163 

a sore temptation to the Indians, and many were stolen. 
Father Palou repeats a legend or tradition in connec- 
tion with San Antonio, as follows : Soon after the 
founding of the mission, an old Indian woman, named 
Agueda, apparently one hundred years of age, present- 
ed herself for baptism. The Father inquired why she 
wished to be baptized, and she replied that when she 
was a little girl she had heard her father tell of a re- 
ligious man, dressed the same as the Fathers, who 
came to their country, not by way of ships, but through 
the air ; and he taught the same doctrines that the mis- 
sionaries did, and therefore she wished to be baptized, 
as she believed as they did. Inquiry was made, and it 
was found that many of the Indians told the same 
story. Father Palou believed that the person referred 
to was perhaps one of the last missionaries who ac- 
companied Father St. Francis in 1631 in his work in 
New Mexico, and who were martyred after having 
made many converts. 

Permanent buildings were finally erected in 1809, 
about a half league from the original site. Nearby 
flowed Mission Creek, a branch of the main river. The 
padres had a dam constructed and the water diverted 
and made to irrigate the grain. Xot so today. At one 
time, San Antonio rivaled Capistrano, San Luis Rev 
and Santa Barbara. The buildings were extensive, and 
are magnificently artistic in their ruin. Long cloisters, 
arches and broken bits of walls and tile roof remain to 
tell the story of architectural grandeur. The roof has 
fallen in, the adobe walls are crumbling, and each 
rain counts with telling effect upon their inevitable de- 
struction. The facade of the church may have been 
patterned after San Diego, as there is an unmistakable 



164 MISSION SAN ANTONIO 

resemblance, only that San Antonio was made beauti- 
ful with tall graceful arches for doors, and bells. 
Twenty years ago the Mission of San Antonio was in 
very good repair, but now, alas, it is a heap of ruins, 
and it will require a large sum of money to restore 
it to its former grandeur. 

A few years ago an attempt was made to restore the 
ruins, but the earthquake of 1906 rendered the effort 
futile, as great damage was done by the temblor. 

From the time that San Antonio was founded, 1771 
to the time of the last general report of the Mission 
was made by the padres, 1831, there has been 4,402 bap- 
tisms, 3,579 deaths and 1,139 couples married. 661 
Indians were living in or near the mission. The 
establishment owned 5,000 head of cattle. 10,000 
head of sheep, and 360 horses. The mission 
was secularized in 1835. The inventory showed a val- 
uation of $90,000. In ten years, under the secular rule, 
the live stock had disappeared altogether, the valua 
tion of the establishment was placed at $8,000 and the 
"population was given as fifteen — ten men and five 
women. So much for secularization. There is no rec- 
ord that the mission was ever sold. 

There is a Camino Real bell guide-post at Jolon that 
directs the traveler to the mission. It was placed 
there by the Grand Parlor of the Native Daughters of 
the Golden West thiough the assistance of Mr. Dutton. 




MISSION NUESTRA SENORA DE LA SOLEDAD 
"Our Lady of Solitude." 



The Mission of Soledad, Our Lady of Solitude, was 
founded October 9th, 1791, by Fr. Fermin Francisco 
Lasuen, President of the Missions. The site selected 
was called by the natives Chuttusgelis, and is located 
in Monterey County about 60 miles from Salinas. 

In mission days it was a lonely place but there were 
Indians in the vicinity and the soil was fertile therefore 
a mission was established. Governor Portola named 
the place Soledad in 1769 but it was not until 1797 that 
the adobe structure with its roof of straw, which was 
known as the chapel of Soledad, was completed. 



166- MISSION SOLEDAD 

Later a tiled roof and corridors were added. Soledad 
became a flourishing Christian settlement. Up to the 
time of secularization, 1834, there had been 2,234 bap- 
tisms, 675 marriages and 1,724 deaths. At that time 
there were 350 Indians living at the mission. They had 
4,500 head of cattle, 4,950 head of sheep, and 163 head 
of horses, mules and burros. Statistics regarding 
crops are interesting as it proves the value of the soil 
when tilled with the crudest of implements and worked 
by aboriginal labor. Wheat sowed 84 bu., harvested 
163 bu. ; barley, 25 bu., harvested 120 bu. ; Spanish 
peas, 20 bus., harvested 31 bu. ; horse peas, 2.2 bu., 
harvested 22 bu. ; Indian corn 2 bu., harvested 60 bu. ; 
Indian beans 2 bu., harvested 8 bu. Total number of 
bushels harvested, 406. Conditions at the mission 
were good, the Indians were occupied in the field and 
in domestic work and the church was well supplied 
with articles for divine worship. 

After secularization in 1835 so great was the devas- 
tation and ruin that Fr. Vincente Sarria, who had lab- 
ored for the mission for thirty years, and who refused 
to leave his post of duty and abandon the Indians, 
died the first year, of starvation and want. June 4th, 
1846, Mission Soledad was sold to Feliciano Soberanes 
for $800, yet the inventory of 1835 had shown a valua- 
tion of $36,000, besides the church property. Today 
the church stands a heap of ruins amid a barley field 




MISSION SAN JUAN BAUTISTA 



Mission San Juan Bautista is at San Juan, about 
forty-two miles south of San Jose. It lies directly on 
El Camino Real, the State Highway, which is marked 
by Mission Bell guide-posts that give distances and 
directions. The Bell at San Juan is artistically swung 
from cross beams that were once a part of the old 
mission. It is near the entrance and is of great at- 
traction. San Juan is sixteen miles from Salinas, 
thirty-five miles from Monterey and about ninety miles 
south of San Francisco via El Camino Real. 

The site of San Juan, or Popeloutechom as the In- 
dians called it, was selected as early as 1786, but the 
mission was not founded bv Fr. Fermin Lasuen until 



168 MISSION SAN JUAN BAUTISTA 

June 24, 1797, the day dedicated to the patron saint, 
John the Baptist. Work upon the chapel and the 
various buildings was begun immediately. It took 
hundreds of workers fifteen years to complete the task, 
and the chapel was dedicated by Father President 
Esteban Tapis, June 25, 1812. The establishment was 
so constructed as to form a court 200 feet square with 
buildings on three sides of it, and a high wall on the 
fourth. The material used w r as adobe (sun-dried brick) 
and ladiello, a kind of brick that was frequently used 
for flooring, and was made in a subterranean kiln. 
Adobes are made of certain mud mixed with straw or 
tough grass, after being thoroughly kneaded by 
hand or trodden by foot it is molded in the desired 
shape and dimensions and dried in the sun. The 
regular size was 30x16x4 inches, and it weighed about 
fifty pounds. The ladiellos were much smaller, being 
only 12x8x2 inches. After being baked in the kiln 
they became exceedingly hard. The old floor still 
remains in San Juan Bautista as well as in many others 
of the old missions, and is over one hundred years old. 
The chapel had a handsome tower and dome, but after 
the dome fell a modern steeple was perched upon 
quaint old San Juan. Even the elements rebelled at 
this perversion, and the wind wreaked vengeance and 
the steeple fell. The buildings were originally roofed 
with tiles or tejas, kiln dried like the bricks, but in 
1884 the church w T as restored, and a portion of the roof- 
ing was replaced by shingles until such time as the 
tiles can be placed upon them. The Avails of San 
Juan were allowed to retain the delicate tint of the 
cinnabar that so frequently colored the mortar and 



MISSION SAN JUAN BAUT1STA 169 

left the glow that no after-tinting or staining can imi- 
tate. 

The fine music of San Juan Bautista was a feature of 
the mission — and a reason of its success. The padres 
charmed the savages with song and harmony. A 
chime of nine bells was doubtless a sweet memory to 
the padres of the past, and certainly proved a benefit 
in attracting and gaining the Indians' attention. Only 
one of these bells remain at the mission. The other 
bell is one that was recast in San Francisco in 1874 
from two of the old ones, but the old, sweet tone is 
gone. Many of the bells have been given to other 
churches. The story told of J. Roscoe Hodgdon's 
bell has no connection with the mission. This was a' 
"fire bell" and not a mission bell. A peculiar feature 
of the belfry where hang the bells, is an old wooden 
wheel with four hollow arms two inches square, on 
an axle. Between each two hangs a wooden clapper 
and these clappers rap successively on the arms, as the 
wheel rotates. It is used to call the people to worship 
upon the days when the Catholic Church rings no bells. 
The wooden wheel can be heard at a great distance. 
The bells and the pipe organ are features of San Juan 
that worked little less than miracles. 

An interesting story is told that the mission was 
founded by the organ. That a padre unloaded the little 
pipe music box from off the back of a mule and setting 
it high up on the prominence overlooking the valley 
began to swiftly turn the crank, for it is a hand organ, 
and when the Indians first heard the strange sounds 
they fell upon their faces in fear ; but as the music con- 
tinued their fear left them and they began to enjoy 
the sweet sounds. Finally they slowly approached the 



170 MISSION SAN JUAN BAUTISTA 

hill and gradually gathered about the padre and the 
wonderful singing box and listened with delight. After 
playing for an hour or more the missionary addressed 
the natives in their own dialect, offered them sweets 
and told them he had come to live among them. The 
good man received a hearty welcome and so did the 
music. The box is an old hand organ standing about 
AYi feet high. It has tin pipes and was built by Ben- 
jamin Dodson, 22 Swan street, London, Eng., in 1735. 
It was brought to San Juan in 1797. Many years ago 
it became disabled, and was removed to the storehouse 
of the mission. A wandering tinker came to San Juan 
and asked for work and something to eat, and re- 
marked that he was a tuner. The Father said, "We 
have only the old hand organ, and it is out of repair." 
The tinker asked for a sheet of tin, and set to work 
on the music box. Before long the old relic had found 
its voice. Not so the Indians, who once so deeply 
loved to hear the music of the magic box. Their 
voices are hushed and still forever. There was one 
lively air that the Indians loved dearly. For 
many years the padres did not know the names 
of the different selections ; all were religious, 
but this one, No. 3. Very recently the name 
was found upon a strip of yellow paper back of a 
small hidden door. It was "The Siren's Waltz." 
Father Tapis composed a great deal of music for the 
California missions. There remain three large vol- 
umes of his work at this mission alone. Much of the 
music is on parchment, and in bold, clear characters. 
The chapel of San Juan Bautista could accommodate 
une thousand or more worshipers, and in the pros- 
perous days the capacity was frequently taxed to its 



MISSION SAN JUAN BAUTISTA 171 

fullest. The mission, in the olden days, possessed 
extensive lands and great herds ; and between the years 
of 1797 and 1835, 4,100 persons were baptized. When 
the crash of secularization came, the inventory showed 
a valuation of $147,413. In 1846 San Juan was sold 
for debt. Today it is an impoverished parish church — 
but nevertheless one of the most interesting and artistic 
relics of the mission buildings. 

The mission buildings of San Juan Bautista were 
built on the edge of a mesa overlooking a fertile valley. 
The church faces a little to the south of east. It was 
200x70x45 feet in dimensions, being higher than most 
of the churches. The walls were supported by four 
buttresses on either side. Those on the northeast are 
still standing; one remains at the back; while the 
entire wall on the west side is boarded up with red- 
wood to prevent its total collapse. The church was 
built with a nave and transepts. The nave is sub- 
divided by seven arches, but curiously five of them 
have been walled in with adobe. The walls and ceiling 
are whitewashed. There is a choir loft over the en- 
trance door. The church is lighted by eight quaint 
little windows with glass in small panes, about five 
inches square. The baptismal font, carved from a piece 
of sandstone, stands three feet high, and is three feet 
across. It is the only font that San Juan has had. 
Over it hangs an old painting ui the baptism of Christ. 
The church has three altars. The principal altar is 
dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and is very gaudily 
frescoed and painted. The statues of red-wood, one 
life size of St. John and four smaller ones, are exe- 
cuted with rare talent and artistic effect. That they 
are of our native wood proves that either the padres 



172 MISSION SAX JUAN BAUTISTA 

or the Indians, or perchance a Mexican who dwelt at 
this mission, was more than ordinarily gifted in carv- 
ing. 

AVould that there was some one now living who 
could give up the secrets of the missions ! From whence 
came the paintings, the vestments, the church orna- 
ments, the bells, and who executed the carving and 
other decorative work? The answers are unvarying; 
they came from Mexico or from Spain, and the padres 
or the neophytes did the carving, and the work. But 
the answer is not sufficient. In the mission gardens 
stand old pear trees said to be one hundred years old. 
The cemetery is full to overflowing. Many of the 
graves are filled six deep, and within the small space 
of an acre, or thereabouts, 4,557 bodies have been 
interred. An old sun-dial in the garden is of interest. 
It is two and one-half feet high, and carved from sand- 
stone. Father Rubio said that the dial was originally 
intended for San Felipe and therefore is one second too 
slow for San Juan Bautista. 

Landmarks and Relics 

The residence and headquarters of General Jose 
Castro, an adobe building with walls three feet thick 
and a roof of tiles, is owned by J. R. Breen and is in 
good repair. The old pear trees in the mission ground, 
planted a hundred years ago, and still bearing fruit, 
are of interest. Fremont's Peak, Gavilan mountain, is 
not far distant. General Fremont ascended this moun- 
tain March 11, 1846, and selecting the tallest tree as a 
tlag pole, raised the Stars and Stripes. He constructed 
a rude fort and remained encamped at this place for 
three days. .Remains of the fort and the stump of 



MISSION SAN JUAN BAUTISTA 173 

the tree may be seen. There is a good road to the 
summit. Helen Hunt Jackson first selected San Juan 
Bautista as the location in which to place the plot for 
her novel, but, owing to the fact that she would not 
divulge her reasons for wishing to rent a certain house 
in the quaint little town, the old lady in charge of the 
house would not let it to her, and therefore Helen 
departed and San Juan missed its chance of notoriety. 

There are many interesting relics at San Juan 
church — ancient candlesticks of curious pattern, old 
musical instruments, the old bass viol, the rude music 
stand, a violin, past all music, and the old organ 
brought from England in 1797, vestments, robes and 
sheet music, torn and faded, but dear to the devout 
and interesting to the historian. 

In the shadow of the old mission is hung one of the 
C'amino Real Bells. It swings from a cross beam that 
was once a part of the mission, thus quaintly and beau- 
tifully linking the mission in the chain of El Camino 
Real, the Royal Road, that joined the twenty-one 
Franciscan establishments in the Spanish days of Cali- 
fornia. The bell was given by San Juan Bautista Par- 
lor, Native Daughters of the Golden West, in 1910, 
and was appropriately dedicated and blessed by Rev. 
Valentine Closa. 



MONTEREY 
Presidio and Chapel 

The Bay of Monterey was discovered November, 
1542, by Don Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portugese 
navigator in the employ of Spain. He had sailed from 
the port of Navidad, Colma, Mexico, June 27th, under 
the direct orders of the first viceroy of that country, 
Don Antonio de Mendoza, Conde de Tendilla. He had 
two ships, the San Salvador which he commanded and 
La Vitoria commanded by his pilot, Don Bartolome 
Ferrelo. 

After a tempestuous voyage of five months Cabrillo 
sailed into the beautiful crescent-curved Bay of Mon- 
terey and attempted a landing. But the water was 
too rough, and the mariner contented himself with 
naming the place La Bahia de los Pinos and making 
special note of the general character of the roadstead 
and vast forest of pines in the immediate back country. 
It was his glowing account of the bay that fixed it in 
the minds of all future navigators and explorers as a 
Port of Refuge for all trading vessels plying between 
the Orient and Mexico. 

The second expedition to enter the bay was com- 
manded by General Sebastian Vizcaino, who sailed 
under orders of Viceroy Don Caspar de Zuniga, Conde 
de Monterey. 

According to the best authorities Vizcaino had four 
vessels. They were La Capitana, also called by some 
writers San Diego ; La Almiranta or Santo Tomas ; 
Tres Reys, and a long narrow boat known as a 'barco- 
luengo'. 



176 MONTEREY 

\ izcanio was appointed Captain-General of the ex- 
pedition. Commander Toribio Gomez de Corvan was 
made Admiral, Martin Aguilar was appointed Ensign 
and Antonio Flores, pilot. 

The company consisted of about two hundred men. 
They were accompanied by three bare-footed Carmel- 
ites, namely, Fr. Andres de la Assumpsion, Fr. Antonio 
de la Ascension, who has left us such interesting ac- 
counts of the voyages and places, and Fr. Thomas de 
Aquino. 

Vizcaino anchored December 16th, 1602 near the 
mouth of the river and named it El Rio del Carmelo ; 
he renamed the bay, calling it El Puerto de Monterey 
in honor of the viceroy. On the following day Viz- 
caino ordered an 'enramada' (a hut covered with 
branches of trees) erected under the wide spreading 
branches of a grand oak tree that stood close to the 
shore and within twenty paces of springs of excellent 
water. The hut was to be used as a chapel wherein 
the Carmelite friars might say mass during the stay 
in Monterey. Bells w^ere swung from the branches of 
the great oak and rung for the first mass at Monterey, 
and it w r ould appear that mass was greatly needed as 
consolation, for many of these brave men were ill 
from the w^orst form of scurvy, provisions were low, 
and general conditions most trying. After the first re- 
ligious service a counsel w r as held and it was decided to 
send the Almiranta back to Mexico for a twofold pur- 
pose; that of carrying the many sick and suffering 
back for better medical treatment, and for the purpose 
of returning with re-enforcements and provisions. Ac- 
cordingly Admiral Gomez embarked with the sick and 
a sufficient number of able-bodied men to man his 



MONTEREY 177 

ship while General Vizcaino proceeded on his voyage 
of discovery. Of the bay of Monterey as a port, he 
says in his letter to the King, Philip III of Spain : "As 
to what this harbor of Monterey is, in addition to being 
well situated in point of latitude for the protection and 
security of ships coming from the Philippines ; in it 
may be repaired the damages which they have sus- 
tained, for there is a great extent of pine forests from 
which to obtain masts and yards, even though the 
ships be of a thousand burden, live oaks and white 
oaks for ship-building, and this close to the seaside in 
great number. Among the ports of great considera- 
tion it is all that can be desired for commodiousness ; 
it is sheltered from all winds and as some port on this 
coast is to be occupied, none is so proper as this harbor 
of Monterey." He further speaks of the rosemary, 
the vine of Alexandrie, the quality of the soil and the 
climate as that of Castile ; he dwells upon the variety of 
wild grains and of wild game in the vicinity and even 
lauds the Indians, whom he says arc of good stature 
and the women of pleasing countenance — and why 
not? Perhaps the Indians were the mountain Indians, 
who generally are of goodly size and pleasant bear- 
ing, and they had come down in the winter to fish. Be 
it all as it may, the boosting, boasting Vizcaino was 
not able to impress the sovereigns of Spain with the 
importance of the Hay of Monterey as a way station 
to the Philippines and it was one hundred and sixty- 
eight years before another expedition was sent to 
Montere) . 

This time, it came overland and Mazed llie l rail of 
El Camino Real. The land expedition was under the 
command of Don Gaspar de Portola, Governor of Cal- 



178 MONTEREY 

ifornia. He was accompanied by Captain Fernando 
Javier de Rivera y Moncada, who had been Captain at 
the Presidio of Loreto, Lower California, when the 
expedition to settle Upper California was planned and 
he conducted the first land division of that expedition ; 
Lieut. Pedro Fages, Engineer Miguel Costanso, Fr. 
Juan Crespi, whose diary gives us the best record of 
the third expedition to Monterey and the first over- 
land trip through the wilderness of California. The 
party consisted of sixty-six men. They reached Mon- 
terey, November 27th, 1769 — but failed to recognize the 
place. It should be remembered, but seldom is, that 
a place looks different when viewed from the land- 
side or from the sea. It's like the face or the back of 
your head. These weary, traveled worn explorers 
were disappointed and disheartened. They moved on 
the 28th to a camp on the Carmel river. Two crosses 
were erected. One on point Almeja, now Mussel Rock, 
was erected by Engineer Costanso, and the other near 
Punta de los Pinos (Point of Pines) by Sergeant Jose 
Francisco de Ortega. Inscriptions were cut into the 
wood, 'Dig, at the foot thou wilt find a writing.' This 
was done because the party expected to meet a supply 
ship, the San Jose, sent from Mexico, but which never 
came. It was lost at sea. Portola and his party re- 
turned to San Diego, arriving there Wednesday, Janu- 
ary 24th, 1770 after an absence of six months and ten 
days. The settlement at San Diego was in a most la- 
mentable condition, the men were ill from scurvy and 
no supply ship had arrived from Mexico, therefore 
Portola's expedition could not expect nor receive any 
succor from this source and the ship San Carlos lay 
idly in the bay as there were no sailors to take it back 



MONTEREY 1/9 

to Mexico for supplies. Portola waited for conditions 
to better themselves until March 19th, but without 
avail. He then announced that he and his men would 
march back to Lower California. Fr. Serra persuaded 
him to remain until the day of St. Joseph and proposed 
that a novena, (a devotional exercise of nine consecu- 
tive days) be made to this holy Patriarch Avho was 
patron of the expedition. Thus in prayer and devo- 
tions these early explorers spent the time awaiting 
provisions or a final abandonment of this the third at- 
tempt to colonize and civilize California. On the vigil 
of St. Joseph when all were in great stress of spirit and 
preparations read)' for departure the following day, 
there appeared a ship sailing by in the gloom — it 
seemed like a phantom ship for it faded away, but to 
the holy Father Serra it was the answer to his prayer. 
He was able to keep the turbulent colony a few days 
longer and in that time the ship returned, for it was 
the supply ship for which they had waited all these 
weary months. It was the San Antonio freighted with 
everything necessary for another and an immediate at- 
tempt to find Monterey. 

On May 25th, 1770, Governor Portola and Fr. Crespi 
were again encamped under the Punta de los Pinos 
where they found the cross that had been erected De- 
cember 9th, 1769, by Sergeant Ortega and on May 31st 
the San Antonio in command of Captain Don Juan 
Perez, with Engineer Costanso and Fr. Serra aboard 
cast anchor in the bay of Monterey, which they readily 
recognized as the "famous port" of Cabrillo and Viz- 
caino, for they saw it from the same angle as had the 
earlier explorers. 

On June 3rd preparations were in readiness to cele- 



180 MONTEREY 

brate mass and take formal possession of the country 
in the name of the King of Spain, Carlos III. An en- 
ramada was constructed under the Vizcaino oak, belb 
were again hung in its great branches and rung for 
the mass that marks the most important date of history 
for Monterey — the advent of permanent civilization 
and christianizing influence. Fr. Crespi gives the fol- 
lowing account of the ceremonies : "The Fr. Presi- 
dente vested with alb and stole, all kneeling, then im- 
plored the assistance of the Holy Ghost, and sang the 
hymn of the day, the Vini Creator Spiritus. Thereupon 
he blessed water and with it the great cross, which 
had been constructed and which all helped to raise and 
place in position, and then venerated. He then 
sprinkled the surroundings and the shore to drive 
away all infernal enemies. Thereupon High Mass was 
commenced at the altar upon which stood the image of 
Our Lady, which had been donated for the expedition 
to Monterey by the Most Rev. Francisco de Lorenzana, 
Archbishop of Mexico. 

The Fr. Presidente sung the Holy Mass and also 
preached after the Gospel, whilst repeated salutes from 
the cannons of the bark and volleys from the muskets 
and firearms supplied the lack of musical instruments. 
At the close of the Holy Mass the Salve Regina was 
sung before the lovely statue of Our Lady, and then 
the whole ceremony concluded with the Te Deum 
Laudamus." 

When the functions of the Church had been con- 
cluded the Commander and Governor Gasper de Por- 
tolla took formal possession of the land in the name of 
the King. He raised anew the royal standard, which 
had been unfurled after the erection of the cross, then 



MONTEREY 181 

drawing his sword he uprooted herbs, threw stones to 
the four winds and proclaimed possession of the land 
in the royal name of His Catholic Majesty, Don 
Carlos Third. A record of all that had transpired was 
drawn up and signed by Portola, and the Captain of 
the ship, Don Juan Perez, and his pilot, Don Miguel 
del Pino. The ship appears in the record made by 
Portola as El Principe but it is the same San Antonio ; 
it was known by both names. 

The small shelter that was used as a chapel at the 
first services w r as improved and formally consecrated 
as a church June 16th, 1770, the day of "Nuestra 
Senora del Carmen" ; crude barracks were erected for 
the soldiers, temporary dwellings for the officers and 
missionaries, and the whole was surrounded by a brush 
palisade. 

In December of the following year Fr. Serra re- 
moved the mission establishment to a site five miles 
from the presidio and on the present site of Mission 
San Carlos P>orromeo del Carmelo de Monterey. The 
reason given by the father for the removal was lack 
of fresh water and fertile soil at Monterey. At the 
new mission both Fr. Serra and Fr. Crespi began the 
study of the dialect of the Eslenes Indians, by whom 
they were surrounded, and through this means and the 
giving freely of gifts they were enabled to enroll 175 
converts within the first three years of the church. 
The two fathers worked indefatigably for eleven years 
for these Indians but on January 1st, 1782, Fr. Crespi 
was called to his reward and two years later, on Aug 
ust 28th, 1784, he was followed into eternal peace by 
Fr. Junipero Serra, who had suffered a lingering illness. 
Hoth were buried in the old chapel — for it was not 



182 MONTEREY 

until July 7th, 1793, that the corner stone was laid for 
the new church, the remains of which is the present 
Mission Carmel. Therefore neither Fr. Serra nor Fr. 
Crespi ever set foot wtihin this building, it is merely 
their sepulcher. Both lie buried in the sanctuary, 
fronting the altar, on the gospel side. The original 
structure was built of -soft straw-colored stone, quar- 
ried nearby and said to harden by exposure to the air. 
The lime used in the construction of the building was 
made from sea-shells. The roof was of the artistic 
red tiles. 

At the death of Fr. Serra the office of Presidente of 
the Missions was assumed by Fr. Palou until the reg- 
ular appointment and arrival of a successor. The suc- 
cessor was Fr. Fermin Francisco Lasuen. During his 
residence at the mission the enrollment reached its 
highest figure, 927, which was in 1794, after which time 
the population steadily decreased. Carmel was never 
a prosperous mission but being the official residence 
of the Presidents it achieved prominence and import- 
ance. June 28th, 1803, Fr. Lasuen died and was buried 
in the sanctuary. He was succeeded by Fr. Tapis who 
lived at San Carlos del Carmelo most of the time after 
1806. Between the years 1810-1820 a new chapel ad- 
joining the church was built and dedicated which 
seems a strange fact as the neophyte population had 
decreased to but 381 and the whole number of bap- 
tisms for the past ten years had been but 400; mar- 
riages, 109; deaths, 397. Grain crops and stock was of 
but little value. There is no record extant of the 
local events of San Carlos after 1831. In 1833, a 
Zacatecan, Fr. Jose Real, was placed in charge. The 
following year secularization was effected and the 



MONTEREY 183 

statement is made that there was little property left 
and by 1840 none at all remained, except the ruined 
buildings. Fr. Real resided at Monterey and held only 
occasional services at Carmel. In 1845 the Mission 
San Carlos Borromeo del Carmelo de Monterey was, 
according- to Governor Pico's decree regarded as a 
pueblo or abandoned mission and the property was 
to be sold for the payment of debts ; and the main- 
tenance of divine service. After that the church which 
contained the remains of the founder of the missions 
was left to the mercy of the elements and vandals. In 
1852 the tiled roof fell in, great rents were made in the 
walls and soon grass and weeds covered the floor and 
effectually hid the resting places of the missionaries. 
In 1868 when Rev. Angelo D. Cassanova was appoint- 
ed to the parish of Monterey, Carmel was a heap of 
ruins. Fr. Cassanova took steps to have the debris 
cleared away but it was not for many, many years that 
any actual steps were taken to locate the graves of 
Frs. Serra, Crespi, and Lasuen. An interesting account 
of the opening of the tombs is given by Rev. Zepher- 
ine Englehardt O. F. M., in his book, "The Francis- 
cans in California," (a volume to which I am greatly 
indebted for valuable and authentic information con- 
cerning the missions). It is about as follows: 

"On July 3, 1882, Father Cassanova having previ- 
ously given notice in the papers of San Francisco, that 
the tombs of Fathers Serra and Crispi would be op- 
ened, over 400 persons from that city and from the 
Hotel del Monte, went to Carmel. At the appointed 
hour Father Cassanova, with the Records Defunct- 
orum, kept in the archives of the parish, in hand, read 
aloud in Spanish and in English the following four 



184 MONTEREY 

entries: 'Rev. F. Juan Crispi, born in Spain; died 
January 1, A. D. 1782, 61 years old; buried near the 
main altar, gospel side.' 'Rev. F. Junipero Serra, D. D., 
president of all the missions ; born in Mallorca, Spain ; 
died on the 28th of August, A. D. 1784, at the age of 
71 years ; buried in the sanctuary, fronting the altar 
of Our Lady of Seven Dolores, on the gospel side.' 
'Rev. F. Julian Lopez, born in Spain ; died here, on 
the 15th of July, A. D. 1797, aged 35 years; buried in 
the sanctuary, on the gospel side in the tomb near the 
Avail on the left/ 'Rev. F. Francisco Lasuen, vie. for 
second president of the mission ; born in Spain, died 
here, and is buried in the sanctuary, on the gospel side, 
in a stone tomb, near the main altar, June 28th, 1803.' ,J 
The heavy stone slabs having been removed before the 
ceremony began, the coffin in each stone tomb or grave 
was left visible. A man then went and raised the lid 
of each coffin. The coffins were of redwood, unplaned, 
and all but that of Father Lasuen in a good state of 
preservation. The people present looked upon the re- 
mains ; it was indeed a gruesome sight. Only the skele- 
tons and the clothing remained. The tombs were 
covered as before with stone slabs. That of Father 
Serra, for better security, was filled with earth, so as 
to make it more difficult for any vandal to disturb his 
resting place, and o\ r er that was placed the stone slab 
broken in four pieces. 

Mission Carmel has been restored with a vengeance. 
The once beautiful tile roof that raised at a low and 
graceful angle was replaced in 1887 by a shingle afrair 
that pokes its obnoxious ridge up almost into a peak. 
Within, the high ceiling is made of matched ceiling, 
stained or painted and then adorned with twelve 



MONTEREY 185 

of the most imposingly grand blue-black stars that ever 
adorned anything. They are in the neighborhood of 
four feet across and strike wonderment to your soul. 
The church is bare, the sacristy is bare, the altar is 
bare — no candles burn in this tomb of the founder of 
the missions — the baptistry is bare, save a highly deco- 
rative font of modern Mexican onyx, the sight of which 
makes you fairly burst with ire, knowing that the 
original font was carted off and that it has been re- 
peatedly offered for sale. One is granted the privilege 
of ascending the pulpit steps and is told that Fr. Serra 
and his followers trod the steps into rounded holes — 
but of course it is your own fault if you do not know 
that Fr. Serra died in 1784 and this church was not 
dedicated to worship until 1797, a mere matter of thir- 
teen years' difference, all of which period Fr. Serra lay 
in his tomb. 

The dimensions from the interior are, from entrance 
to rear wall, 165 feet ; width, at base of walls 29 feet, 
from ceiling to floor 40 feet. The material is chalk- 
rock, and the walls are four feet thick at the bottom 
and rise in a graceful arch curve toward the top. There 
are three buttresses on each side. They supported the 
curved arches of the original low tiled roof. The origi- 
nal large red square tiles that covered the floor have 
been replaced with modern concrete. A few of the 
original tiles were used to pave the sanctuary, behind 
the altar rail. The original altar steps are still in place. 
These are of stone, one of which is a single slab almost 
eleven feet long. The altar is new. To the left, on the 
wall, is a marble tablet to the memory of Frs. Serra, 
Crespi, Lopez and Lasuen. A translation of the Latin 
inscription is as follows : 



186 MONTEREY 

"HERE LIES THE REMAINS 

OF THE ADMINISTRATOR REV. FATHER 

JUNIPERO SERRA 

ORDER OF SAINT FRANCIS 

FOUNDER OF THE CALIFORNIA MISSIONS 

AND PRESIDENT 

BURIED IN PEACE. 

DIED 28TH DAY OF AUGUST, A. D. 1784. 

AND HIS COMPANIONS 

REV. FATHERS 

JOHN CRESPI 

JULIAN LOPEZ 

AND 

FRANCIS LASUEN. 

MAY THEY REST. IN* PEACE." 

The only original decoration left on any of the walls 
is a mere scrap in a side chapel. It is a part of a prayer. 
All the rest has been whitewashed away. 

The front entrance is beautiful and imposing. Above 
the doors is a star-shaped window, which is slightly 
out of plumb, but full of interest in its crude beauty. 
Above it is a small slab bearing the inscription, "Found- 
1770— Restored 1884." 

Two towers, uneven in size, adorn the front entrance 
of the building. The large egg-shaped one to the south 
is surmounted by an iron-work cross, said to be the 
original. The cornices, turrets and other carved stone 
work is weather-worn and broken. At the rear of the 
tower is a stone stairway leading to the belfry. The 
steps are deeply worn away by footprints and by 
weather. A modern bell swings in the opening. The 
original bells, which were all cracked, were melted and 
recast and now hang in the tower of San Carlos de 
Monterey, the parish church. Also the image of the 
Virgin that once rested in the nich in the belfry has 
been removed to Monterey, as has everything else of 
interest and value that was portable. There is but one 
original window frame ; it is in the first window on the 
right as you enter the church. To this same side is 
the spiral stairway leading to the small tower and to 



MONTEREY 187 

the choir. It is narrow and the stones are deeply hol- 
lowed by the tread of countless feet. 

In the immediate vicinity of the church are still to 
be seen the remains of the adobe buildings that con- 
stituted the mission establishment. They were the 
living rooms of the padres and of the Indians, as well 
as the work shops, store-houses and guest chambers, 
for Carmel Mission was a most popular and hospitable 
place in the mission days. Much of this material has 
been removed and actually used to fill in the road. This 
is the neglect and irreverence with which we treat our 
historic landmarks. The cemetery has disappeared — 
only here and there may be seen a trace of a mound or 
a fallen-down cross or headstone. Yet it is said that 
fifteen of California's Governors rest beneath that sod. 

The location of Mission Carmel is magnificent. The 
church stands on a slightly rising eminence overlook- 
ing the Carmel Valley, through which flows the Car- 
mel River on its way to the sea. Near by is the beauti- 
ful and well noted forest of pines and cypress, while 
out through the valley arc dotted small ranches and 
orchards. It is an ideal but neglected place. ( )nly once 
a year is the old withered and faded place made to blos- 
som and bloom as of yore. ( )n the 4th of November, 
the feast day of the patron saint of the mission, Saint 
Charles l>orromeo, Archbishop of Milan, a religious 
festival is held and the old ruins are decorated with 
evergreens and flowers. People come from Monterey, 
from Carmel-by-the-Sea, from Pacific Grove and from 
Hotel del Monte to witness and to assist in the one 
service of the year. Automobiles fill the valley ; even 
the priest comes from Monterey in one of them and 
the very atmosphere tingles with holiday cadence. No 



PRESIDIO OF SAN CARLOS BORROMEO DE 
MONTEREY 

On June 3rd, 1770, the mission and presidio of San 
Carlos Borromeo de Monterey was founded. A few 
humble huts were erected at once on a hill-site which 
had been surveyed by Miguel Costanso. It is described 
as being a gunshot from the beach and three times as 
far from the shore — a very good description. These 
buildings constituted both presidio and mission, as at 
San Diego, and were enclosed by a palisade. One of 
the huts was completed and blessed as a chapel on the 
14th of June, 1770, when a grand procession took place ; 
bells were rung and guns fired. This ceremony con- 
stituted the founding of the presidio chapel. 

A soldier and a sailor volunteered to carry the news 
to San Diego, and on down the peninsula of Lower 
California. They met Rivera just south of San Diego 
and were joined by five of his men, and finally arrived 
at their destination August 2nd and delivered their 
message to Governor Armona, who had just succeeded 
Portola. Salutes and thanksgiving masses were cele- 
brated at the different missions, while Armona des- 
patched a vessel to Mexico with the glad tidings. The 
presidio was laid out in a square measuring 350 feet 
each way. The palisade enclosure was replaced with 
an adobe wall with a circular block-house at each cor- 
ner raised a little above the top of the wall. There was 
a main gateway and several smaller openings or gates. 
The chapel was in the center of the grounds. On the 
15th of October, 1792, a disastrous fire occurred by the 
cotton used in firing the gun for a salute taking fire 
and spreading to the tule roof of a nearby dwelling. 
Restoration to the amount of $2,609 was made at once. 



SAN CARLOS CHURCH 189 

The restored buildings were roofed with tiles. April 
4th, 1791, plans for a new church were sent by the vice- 
roy. They were drawn by the directors of the academy 
of architects of San Carlos, Mexico. The church was 
completed at a cost of $1,500. Had it been built by 
day-labor and in the usual way, it would have cost at 
least $5,000, but it was not. It was built by troops, 
sailors, neophytes, untutored Indians and convicts from 
Branciforte. 

The main entrance to the presidio was on the north 
side, as were also the guard-house and storehouses. 
Opposite the gateway was the new church. On the 
west were the houses for the governor, commandant 
and other officers, some fifteen apartments in all. To- 
ward the east were nine houses for the soldiers and a 
blacksmith shop, and adjoining the church on the south 
side were similar houses. 

The armament of Monterey varied from seven to 
eleven small guns. As a defense from internal trouble^ 
such as bears and Indians it was a success and suf- 
ficient, but as a protection against marine invasion it 
was akin to our present defense, worthless. 
SAN CARLOS CHURCH 
Monterey 

San Carlos de Monterey is a modern church, the his- 
tory of which is connected with the history of the 
chapel that was founded at the presidio in 1770. It has 
sometimes been called the Royal Chapel. 

When the news of the rediscovery of Monterey by 
the expedition under Governor Portola and Fr. Serra 
was received in the City of Mexico there was great 
rejoicing. The Viceroy, Marquis de la Croix, and the 
Visitador-General, Don Jose de Galvez requested the 



190 SAN CARLOS CHURCH 

Dean of the Cathedral to have the bells rung as on 
festival days. The city officials and the ecclesiastics 
all paid visits to the palace to congratulate the Viceroy 
upon the happy and successful issue of the expedition. 
A solemn mass was celebrated, at which city officials 
and the dignitaries all assisted. An account of the dis- 
covery and the general rejoicing was published and 
sent out to the people of Mexico, and copies forwarded 
to Spain, stating that after two centuries of desire and 
effort to establish a favorable port on the coast of Cali- 
fornia, wherein vessels coming from the Philippines 
might make a landing for repairs, the project had cul- 
minated June 3, 1770, and the port of Monterey had 
been established. The establishment of the port con- 
sisted of erecting crude barracks for the soldiers, tem- 
porary dwellings for the officers and the missionaries 
and a small brush chapel. The chapel was improved 
and formally dedicated June 16th, 1770. Fr. Serra left 
this chapel and repaired to Carmel on July 9th, 1771. 
He took with him forty Indians from Lower California, 
three sailors and five soldiers, who were set to 
work to hew timbers for a new church and mission 
establishment. The new chapel was dedicated the fol- 
lowing December. Almost nothing is given in the 
church records of the presidio chapel after the de- 
parture of Fr. Serra. The church at Monterey became 
the parish church at the time of the secularization of 
Mission Carmel in 1834. Fr. Jose Real was in charge 
at the time, and he resided at Monterey, holding serv- 
ices occasionally at Carmel. 

The present church is constructed of white stone 
found in the vicinity. The building is in the form of 
a cross, the nave being 120 feet long by 30 feet wide, 



SAN CARLOS CHURCH 191 

and the transepts which were added between the years 
1855-58 were done under the direction of Fr. Bautista 
Comillas and at the order of Governor Pacheco, who 
donated the money for the improvement. The facade 
is elaborately decorated. The altar, built at the same 
time, is said to be the work of an Indian. The interior 
has many objects of interest, principally because they 
are the furnishings, pictures and vestments belonging" 
to Mission Carmel. The sacred vessels are kept in an 
iron safe of ancient design. The reliquary is evidently 
the work of Indians. It is rudely carved and gaudily 
painted. On the back is a list of contents in Fr. Serra's 
handwriting. The record books, the most valuable of 
all things in a church, are written by Fr. Serra and the 
other resident priests, and contain the record of all 
baptisms, marriages and deaths that occurred at Mis- 
sion Carmel during the life of that mission. 

The approaeh to the San Carlos is paved in sections 
of the vertebra of whales. Monterey was at one time 
a whaling station. As a relic of that period and indus- 
try it is interesting. At the rear of the church is the 
trunk of the old oak tree that is said to be the one 
under which mass was celebrated when General Vis- 
caino landed at Monterey in 1602. and also when Fr. 
Serra came in 1770. The tree grew in the southeast 
corner of the present presidio grounds and was long an 
object of veneration. \ cross was erected under the tree 
on the centenary of Fr. Serra's landing, which occurred 
June 3, 1770. This cross has been replaced by a granite 
monument. The tree died a few years ago and the 
trunk was then removed to the rear of the church of 
San Carlos and set up with an appropriate tablet at 
the base. 



CUSTOM HOUSE 

One of the most interesting landmarks of California 
is the Custom House at Monterey. It was over this 
building that the Stars and Stripes were hoisted by 
Commodore John Drake Sloat when he took possession 
of California for the United States on July 7th, 1846, at 
9 a. m. The old building is beautifully located at the 
end of Alvarado street, and close to the shore. It was 
used at different times by the Spanish, the Mexican, 
and the American Governments. The foundation and 
the central part of the building was begun by the Span- 
ish in 1814, but it was not finished until after the 
Mexicans came into possession of California. In 1844- 
45 a red tile roof was put on and one of the towers was 
added, but it was covered with a shingle roof. Later 
the other tower was erected and likewise shingled. 

There is an interesting story told of how this Custom 
House was robbed of $30,000 in gold ; another of a gay 
ball given by the officers of the U. S. frigate Savannah 
after they had taken the port of Monterey. There art 
love stories and even ghost stories woven about it, and 
all lend their charm to this quaintly attractive land- 
mark. 

After the occupation of Monterey by the United 
States troops the northern part of the Custom House 
became the headquarters of Capt. W. Mervine of the 
United States Navy, and the central part was occupied 
by marines. In later years it became the private resi- 
dence of Capt. T. G. Lambert, and at present it is the 
headquarters of the Native Sons and Daughters of the 
Golden West. The building is in good repair, having 
been restored by the State of California, at an expense 
pf about $4,500, as the property belongs to the State, 




D. 

cd 
O 



194 COLTON HALL 

Colton Hall, Monterey, the first Capitol of California, 
stands back off Main street, in quite a space of unkept, 
unimproved ground. The building" has been restored 
and at the present time is protected from the elements 
and vandals. It was built by Rev. Walter Colton. 
U. S. X., the Alcalde of Monterey, and of his work he 
says : "Thursday, March 8, 1849. The town hall, on 
which I have been at work for more than a year, is at 
last finished. It is built of a white stone, quarried 
from a neighboring hill, and which easily takes the 
shape you desire. The lower apartments are for 
schools ; the hall over them, seventy feet by thirty — is 
for public assemblies. The front is ornamented with a 
portico, which you enter from the hall. It is not an 
edifice that would attract any attention among public 
buildings in the L nited States ; but in California it is 
without rival. It has been erected out of the slender 
proceeds of town lots, the labor of convicts, taxes on 
liquor shops, and fines on gamblers. The scheme was 
regarded with incredulity by many ; but the building 
is finished, and the citizens have assembled in it, and 
christened it after my name, which will now go down 
to posterity with the odor of gamblers, convicts, and 
tipplers. I leave it as a humble evidence of what may 
be accomplished by rigidly adhering to one purpose 
and shrinking from no personal efforts necessary to its 
achievements. A prison has also been built, and mainly 
through the labor of the convicts. Many a joke the 
rogues have cracked while constructing their own 
cage ; but they have worked so diligently I feel con- 
strained to pardon out the less incorrigible. It is diffi- 
cult here to discriminate between offences Avhich flow 
from moral hardihood, and those which result, in a 



COLTON HALL 195 

measure, from untoward circumstances. There is a 
wide difference in the turpitude of the two ; and an 
alcalde under the Mexican law has a large scope in 
which to exercise his sense of moral justice. Better to 
err a furlong with mercy than a fathom with cruelty." 

When Air. Colton began the work on this prison he 
said : "The old prison is too confined and frail for safe 
custody of convicts ; I have therefore given orders for 
the erection of a new one. The work is to be done by 
the prisoners themselves; they render the building 
necessary, and it is but right that they should put it 
up. Every bird builds its own nest." And so he made 
them do it. 

Colton Hall was new when the first Constitutional 
Convention of California was called, and it, moreover, 
was about the only building in the State at that time 
suited for the purpose of seating a Convention. There- 
fore, on September 1st, 1849, the Convention met in 
Colton Hall. On the 26th the seat of Government was 
removed to San Jose, where it met December 15th, 
1849. The State Legislature passed an act on March 
25, 1903, which provided for a State board of three 
trustees with authority to lease Colton Hall from the 
city of Monterey for not less than ten years, and to 
provide for the preservation, protection and improve- 
ment of the property. Tine act carried with it an ap- 
propriation of $1,500. The only attempt at improve- 
ment of the grounds is a fountain donated by George 
Bertold, a shoe merchant, who left $10,000 for the pur- 
pose. It was designed by William Polk and is of rather 
a heavy and monumental appearance. Upon the face 
of a granite slab rising within the basin of the fountain 
is eaiwed Robert Louis Stevenson's poem on Monterey. 




John Drake Sloat, Rear-Admiral, U. S. N. 



THE SLOAT MONUMENT 

The Sloat Monument at the Presidio of Monterey is 
a memorial erected to Rear Admiral John Drake Sloat, 
who took possession of California for the United States 
on July 7th, 1846. at 9 a. m. It is rather a disappoint- 
ing", funereal structure crowning the commanding" 
eminence that marks the Presidio Reservation, but 
commands attention and interest, as it is the only mon- 
ument outside the city of Washington to receive aid 
from the Federal Government to commemorate the 
deeds of an officer of either the army or navy. Ten 
thousand dollars was appropriated by the Government 



SLOAT MONUMENT 197 

for the superstructure, and more than that amount was 
given by the people of the State of California for the 
base. The reason that it is disappointing to the people 
of the State is because the original designs were not 
used. These designs included a superstructure repre- 
senting Commodore Sloat standing beside a capstan 
on the quarterdeck of a ship, and the superbase was 
to carry four guns off the old ship "Independence," 
which once formed a part of the Pacific squadron under 
command of Commodore Sloat. Instead of this appro- 
priate and beautiful design the Government has 
crowned a mausoleum bulk of stone with an eagle 
poised for flight. The base is composed of sixty-six 
stones, contributed by county supervisors, cities, or- 
ganizations and individuals. And, again, the original 
intention was to have had all the stones donated by the 
counties of the State, but owing principally to county 
charters or laws governing the expenditure of public 
funds by the supervisors, only about thirty-five coun- 
ties are represented. When it was found by the Sloat 
Monument Association that their plan for obtaining 
the stones could not be carried out, the secretary, Maj. 
Edwin A. Sherman, appealed to the women's clubs, 
with the result that in seven months the women of the 
State had furnished eleven stones. Major Sherman 
publicly presented Mrs. Darling, president of the Eed- 
eration of Women's Clubs, and Mrs. A. S. C. Eorbes, 
State chairman of California History and Landmarks 
for the clubs, with gold medals from the Masonic Vete- 
rans' Ajssociation of the Pacific Coast, in recognition of 
the assistance they had rendered the Sloat Monument 
project. 

Other associations that helped to secure or donate 



198 



SLOAT MONUMENT 



stones were the Native Sons and Daughters, the D. 
A. R., the G. A. R. Posts and Corps, Circles of the 
Grand Army, Pioneers, offieers and enlisted men of 
both army and navy, public schools, Free Masons and 
the Sloat Monument Association. June 14th, 1910, the 
monument was unveiled and dedicated by the M. V. 
Grand Lodge, F. & A. M., of California. The services 
were under the direction of Lieut. -Col. John Biddle, 
U. S. A., Chief Enginer of the Pacific Division of the 
United States Army, under whose supervision the mon- 
ument had been completed, by order of the War De- 
partment. 




-Courtesy of Grizzly Bca> 



The Sloat Monument 



OLD THEATER OF MONTEREY 199 

The Old Theater of Monterey is a picturesque old 
adobe building still standing on the corner of Pacific 
Avenue and Scott street. It was once the property of 
John A. Swan, a pioneer of Monterey, who kept a 
saloon in the adjacent adobe — now occupied by Fred 
Smith and his curio shop. Just how this building be- 
came a theater is of interest. It is told in a little Hand 
Book of Monterey, published in 1875, and is as follows : 
"The first theatrical performance ever given in Cali- 
fornia took place in the old adobe storehouse adjacent 
to Jack Swan's saloon, and it came to pass in this way : 
About the time that Stevenson's Regiment, New York 
Volunteers, was disbanded, three companies, includ- 
ing the Colonel, came to Monterey. Soon after, the 
soldiers attempted a theatrical exhibition, which was a 
success. Encouraged by their liberal patronage, the 
manager induced Jack to fix seats, stage and scenery in 
the old adobe. The bills were got out in due form, 
posters printed with a black-pot and brush, and pro- 
grammes written announcing 'Putnam ; or, The Lion 
Son of '76,' as the first to be played. C. E. Bingham 
personated the Son of '76, Mrs. Bingham personated 
Martha Washington, and Charley Cluchester, George 
Washington. Frank Wensell and his wife took part. 
John O'Neal, Mr. Fury and Pete Earl belonged to the 
company also. This effort was followed by 'Damon 
and Pythias,' 'Box and Cox,' 'The Golden Farmer,' 
'Grandfather White Head and 'Nan the Good for 
Nothing.' John Harris, Tom Beach, Captain Winfield, 
Lieutenant Derby and Airs. Kettlebottom were also 
among the leading spirits of the troupe. 1849-1850 were 
memorable eras in the Thespian records of Monterey." 

Passing through the door from the room that was 



200 SHERMAN ROSE TREE 

the saloon, one enters a goodly sized hall, bare now and 
forelorn in appearance. The stage, with its drop cur- 
tain of boards, that is swung up against the ceiling and 
held there by means of a rope and pulley draw you 
fairly running across the space to find out what these 
arrangements are. The crudeness brings a feeling of 
pathos and an appreciation of the keenness with which 
the men of '49 missed the amusements to which they 
had been accustomed and their willingness to adopt 
such things as were at hand in order to bring to them- 
selves things that they could understand. They were in 
a strange country, surrounded by strange people and 
different amusements. This old theater belongs to the 
State and is under the control of a commission that 
consists at present of Messrs. Towle, Sandholt, Martin, 
Gould and Mrs. Porter. The entire property is in- 
cluded in the estate, a portion of which is at present 
occupied by Fred Smith, who has made it appear a 
credit to Monterey, and it would seem that similar 
arrangements could be made whereby the Old Theater 
might be converted into a museum or a place of resort 
worthy of the town and the State. 

OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST IN MONTEREY 

The Sherman Rose Tree. The Rose Tree is a relic 
of a romance between Gen. W. T. Sherman, when a 
Lieutenant with troops at Monterey, and Senorita 
Bonifacio, the belle of Monterey. Y\ nen the young- 
officer was transferred from this western post he pre- 
sented the senorita with a rose of Golden Ophir to 
plant in her garden, with a promise, so the legend says, 
that when it bloomed she would be his bride. The rose 
slip became a tree, the young officer wed Miss Ewing 



LANDMARKS, MONTEREY 



201 



and Senorita Bonifacio sits wrapped alone in her 
mantle of romance in a quaint little cottage by the sea. 
The House of the Four Winds, now the Woman's 
Club House ; Home of the first and only American 
consul, Thomas O. Larkin ; Home of Robert Louis 
Stevenson; Headquarters of Gen. H. W. Halleck ; the 
first Masonic Temple in California; the Junipero Serra 
monument erected by Mrs. Jane Stanford ; Home of 
Governor Alvarado; the first frame building in the 
State, lumber brought from the Antipodes, and the Old 
Pacific Hotel built in 1834 but at the present time head- 
quarters for the Salvation Arm}'. 




Fr. Junipera Serra Monument 



\ 








MISSION SANTA CRUZ 

Mission Santa Cruz was founded September 25th, 
1791, under the joint supervision of Don Hermenegildo 
Sal, commandante at the presidio in San Francisco, 
and fathers Salazar and Baldomero Lopez, who had 
been assigned to the new post. Commandante Sal took 
formal possession of the place, Holy Mass was cele- 
brated, the Te Deum chanted and the mission formally 
established. The site had been selected and blessed by 
Father Lasuen, August 28th, on the day of San Augus- 
tin. Xear by was a fine stream in the Arroyo de Pedro 
Regalado, which is now known as Rio San Lorenzo. 
Huts were built by the Indians, land was prepared, and 
wheat sown. The founding- of the mission was most 
favorable, as many of the Indians came and offered to 



MISSION SANTA CRUZ 203 

help with the work, while their chief, Sugert, presented 
himself, with a few followers, and promised to become 
the first Christian of his tribe, and Sal agreed to be 
godfather. In the history of the founding of the mis- 
sion, it is an interesting fact that frequently every- 
thing wherewith to establish a new mission was con- 
tributed as a loan by the other missions. In this in- 
stance Santa Clara contributed 64 head of cattle, 22 
horses, 77 fanages of grain, and 26 loaves of bread. 
San Francisco gave five yoke of oxen. 70 sheep and 
two bushels of barley. San Carlos gave eight horses 
and seven mules. The vestments and sacred vessels 
were loaned by other missions, also tools and imple- 
ments, until those intended for Santa Cruz should ar- 
rive from Mexico. The mission was beautifully sit- 
uated, near the waters of the Bay of Monterey, and 
as a background there was a dense forest. Although 
the founding was auspicious, the mission never became 
an important or even flourishing establishment, be- 
cause of the close proximity of the penal station of 
Branciforte, which later became the town of Santa 
Cruz. At the present date, however, all of the unpleas- 
ant associations of convict life have disappeared as 
wholly as have the old mission buildings and Santa 
Cruz of today is one of California's charming resorts. 
The corner stone of the Mission church was laid Feb- 
ruary 27, ]7 { )3. The building was 120x30 feet. The 
walls were of stone to the height of three feet, the 
front was of masonry, and the rest of adobe. In 1812 
Father Andres Quintana was brutally murdered by 
nine or ten of the "Mission Indians. Though sick him- 
self, he left his room at night to call upon a man said to 
be dvinsr. On the wav home he was murdered. It was 



204 BRANCIFORTE 

two years before the murderers were apprehended and 
punished. Their defense was that of cruelty on the 
part of the father ; but the fact that he had left his sick 
bed to minister to a dying man belied the accusation, 
and the murderers were condemned to work in chains 
from two to ten years. Only one survived the punish- 
ment. When Santa Cruz was secularized, in 1835, ten 
thousand dollars of the church money was divided 
among the neophytes. In 1838 Hartnell found but 
seventy of the Indians remaining, and all of the money 
gone. Of the mission itself there is now hardly a trace. 
The portion of a tile covered shed in the rear of the 
present church is all that remains. A few relics, among 
them two mission books used by the Indians, may be 
seen in the church. 

Landmarks 

The Big Trees at Felton are the principal landmarks 
near Santa Cruz. In one of these trees General Fre- 
mont and a body of soldiers camped for several months, 
during the winter of 1848. 

BRANCIFORTE 

Branciforte was the last of the California pueblos to 
be founded. The exact date is not recorded but it was 
between July and October of the year 1797 that set- 
tlers arrived at the site that had been chosen by the 
several different authorities as the best place for a 
town and fort. The location was opposite Mission 
Santa Cruz that had been established 1791. Crude 
huts had been previously prepared for the new- 
comers by Alberto de Cordoba, an experienced engi- 
neer sent to California for the express purpose of 



BRANCIFORTE 205 

strengthening its defenses. The plan under which he 
worked was to establish a new pueblo with the view of 
forming a military basis, which should be securely 
fortified, and settled with soldiers as pobladores. 

The pueblo was named in honor of the viceroy of 
Mexico, the Marques de Branciforte. It was estab- 
lished according to the laws regulating pueblos in Cali- 
fornia, but it was neither a success nor a credit. The 
intention of the founders had been to make of it a 
superior western town. An estimate of about $23,000 
as the cost of building the villa with necessary zanjas 
and public buildings was forwarded to Mexico in 
October, 1797, with the result that work was sus- 
pended ; and when the settlers arrived there were but 
the most meager huts provided for them. June 3rd, 
1801, notice was sent that tools and supplies had been 
ordered purchased for Branciforte and that a remission 
of $15,000 had been provided for, as it was the opinion 
of the authorities that the settlers aided by the Indians 
could save the difference. But as the $15,000 never 
came and only the most indolent and undesirable set- 
tlers arrived from Guadalajara, in fact most writers 
term them convicts, the settlement proved a failure, 
tn truth the plan of pueblo settlement in California was 
not a success. Only three were established — San Jose, 
Los Angeles and Branciforte. In 1800 the population 
in all of them was but about one hundred families with 
a total of about 550 souls. The only industries of these 
*ettlers were agriculture and stock raising. 




MISSION SANTA CLARA 



The location of the Mission Santa Clara was first 
selected as a site for Mission San Francisco de Asis. 
It was decided upon by the expedition under command 
of Captain Don Fernando Rivera y Moncada ac- 
companied by Fr. Francisco Palou, who reached this 
locality, called by the Indians Thamien, on Monday, 
November 28th. 1774. The party decided to recom- 
mend that a mission be established at this point, and 
in accordance they raised a cross and dedicated the site 
to the Padre Serafico, San Francisco de Asis. How- 
ever, the plans were later changed and the place re- 
dedicated to the Madre Serafica, Santa Clara, foundress 
and superior of the first community of Franciscan 
nuns. The mission was founded January 12th, 1777, 
by Fr. Tomas de la Pena. The site was the present 
Laurel AYood farm of Peter J. Donahue. Temporary 
structures were erected, but the floods of 1778-9 obliged 
the fathers, to select higher grounds. Accordingly, the 



MISSION SANTA CLARA 207 

"Valley of the Oaks," a location about one hundred 
and fifty yards to the southwest of the present Union 
depot of the town of Santa Clara was chosen. Fr. 
Serra was present and officiated at the removal. Fr. 
Jose Murguia, a priest from the Sierra Gorda district, 
Mexico, and who had been with Fr. Serra in Lower 
California, was stationed at Santa Clara. Permanent 
buildings were begun in November. The corner stone 
for the new church was laid by Fr. Serra November 9th 
or 10th. Fie was assisted by Frs. Crespi, Murguia and 
Pena. The building was completed and dedicated May 
15th, 1784, by Fr. Serra. Fr. Murguia died May 11th 
and was thereby deprived of the joy and pleasure of 
seeing his splendid work completed and sanctified. 
It was at Santa Clara and at this time that Fr. Serra 
made a general confession of his whole life to Fr. 
Palou — at which both were deeply moved, as Fr. Serra 
was in a seriously ill condition. He died at Carmel 
on August 28th of the same year. 

During recent excavations a corner stone believed 
to be the one laid by Fr. Serra for this mission was 
found. It is 153/xl2|/2x7j/> inches in measurement 
with smooth finished faces. In a hole 3^x3^/2 inches 
deep were found, wrapped in oiled skin, a crucifix of 
bronze and several coins bearing the dates of 1778, 
1770, 1769 and 1768. The earthquake of 1812 cracked 
the walls of the church and a heavier earthquake that 
occurred in 1818 completely destroyed the edifice. A 
third church was erected upon the present site, and it 
was dedicated on August 11, 1822, the eve of the 
feast of Santa Clara. The work on this third church 
was supervised by Father Jose Viader, assisted by Don 
Ignacio Alviso, as foreman. The original adobe walls 
were replaced in 1885 by wooden ones. The single 



208 MISSION SANTA CLARA 

belfry and facade were replaced in 1862 by the present 
towers, and the present facade. But the interior, the 
ornamentations and furnishings are almost intact. 
These latter include the life size crucifix, the original 
holy water fonts, the pulpit of those early days, the 
copy of the miraculous and historic painting of "Neus- 
tra Senora de Guadalupe," the original reredos or 
background of the main altar, the tabernacle and can- 
delabra shelves, the wings of the latter itself; the ac- 
companying statues in wood of Saints Joaquin and 
Ann, parents of Our Lady; and like statues of Saints 
Juan Capistran and Colette. The reredos contains other 
statutes and medallions. The church has the original 
frescoed ceiling in the chancel. The paintings of the 
walls and ceiling of the interior are reproductions ; also 
the statue in wood of St. Francis of Asisi, with sacred 
stigmata on the hands and feet; also that of St. An- 
thony of Padua, w T ith the Infant Jesus in his arms. In 
the right hand belfry are the three old bells donated to 
the Santa Clara Mission by the King of Spain. Two 
bear the original dates, 1798 and 1799, and the third, 
which was recast in 1864, bears the double dates of 
1805-64. In the college library may be seen the his- 
toric paintings of "Alameda," the "Beautiful Way/' 
"Santa Clara Mission in 1851" and the grand old 
choral of those early days, w T ith cover in bronze and 
wood. Here also may be seen the ancient chairs of the 
chancel ; the priestly vesture, missals, breviaries, etc., 
of mission days. Also daguerrotypes, copies of Fath- 
ers Serra, Ynego and of the mission and college in the 
early fifties ; in fact, Santa Clara college has been mind- 
ful of her portion of the inheritance, and has made 
every effort to preserve the relics of former days as a 
tribute to the faithful men gone before. Would that 




Santa Clara College 
others had done the same! I am indebted to the Rev. 
Father Kenna and Rev. J. M. O'Sullivan of Santa Clara 
Mission and college, for the foregoing information re- 
specting Santa Clara Mission. At the time of Van- 
couver's visit to Santa Clara, many of the Indians were 
at work on adobe houses for themselves. In 1794 
twenty-three of these dwellings with thatched roofs 
were completed and by 1798 nearly all of the married 
neophytes were thus accommodated. Yet today, not 
an Indian is to be found either in Santa Clara or near 
about there. Here as well as at every other mission, 
secularization with one blow nullified fifty years' 
work of the padres. A disastrous fire in 1913 destroyed 
many of the precious relics — but the history remains. 



\ Bio 




1 \ X 




S -~j oo c 


v. 


— *»» «C K 


8 01 a 



Map cf San Jose 



Bancroft 



SAN JOSE 

The Pueblo of San Jose de Guadalupe was the first 
town to be established in California. It was founded 
November 29th, 1777, by Governor Felipe de Neve, 
who not only selected the site about three miles south- 
east of Mission Santa Clara, which had been founded in 
January of the same year, but chose the name and also 
selected the people who were to form the first colony 
of California. The townsite was on the banks of the 
Guadalupe river. The name San Jose was in honor of 
the Patriarch Saint Joseph, patron of the California 
expedition. The people selected were nine soldiers 
and their families from the presidios of Monterey and 
San Francisco, who knew something of farming, and 
five settlers who had come to California with Capt. 
Juan Bautista de Anza. The fourteen persons with 
their families made a colony of sixty-six in all. The}' 
were conducted by Lieut. Jose Moraga. He was sta- 
tioned at San Francisco, from whence they started 
November 7th and reached the site chosen, which was 
about a mile and a quarter from the present City Hall 
of San Jose. On the 29th Lieutenant Moraga 



SAN JOSE / 211 

informally distributed building lots and home sites to 
the following persons (according to Bancroft) : Jose 
Ignacio Archuleta, Manuel Francisco Amezquita, Jose 
Manuel Gonzales, Jose Tiburcio Vasquez and Gertudis 
Peralta, a widow with a family. The names of only 
four of the nine soldier-settlers are given. They are : 
Valerio Mesa, Corporal in comamnd ; Seferino Lugo, 
Juan Manuel Marcos Villela and Jose Antonio Romero. 
On a list of the settlers made in 1781, four years after 
the founding, the names of the four pobladores occur, 
but only one of the soldiers, that of Romero. 

The first houses were earth-roofed structures of 
plastered palisades; the land alloted was sufficient for 
the planting of three bushels of maize, aside from the 
house lot. Each settler was given ten dollars a month 
and a soldier's rations. Each was provided with a yoke 
of oxen, two horses, two cows, a mule, two sheep, and 
two goats, together with necessary implements and 
seed, all of which was to be paid for in produce from 
the soil and delivered at the royal warehouse. Not a 
bad plan to be adopted today for settlers. 

Water being the first necessity after temporary shel- 
ter, the colonists united and dammed the river, thus 
making what is known as the Acequia, a Spanish w r ord 
meaning "man-made ditch." In the fall of 1778 they 
constructed permanent dwellings of adobe with 
thatched roof of tules plastered with mud. One of these 
interesting buildings was still occupied in 1848 by the 
Mesa family, and was standing as late as 1879 — but 
utter disregard for ancient landmarks allowed it to be 
torn down for the sake of modern improvement. The 
pueblo center remained at the original site for twenty 



212 



SAX TOSE' 



years and was then removed to the present site on 
account of continual flooding of the land. 

San Jose was not only the first town founded in Cali- 
fornia, but it was the site where the Government of the 
State was established under American rule. On De- 
cember 15th, 1849, the Legislature met at San Jose and 
confirmed the election of Gov. Peter H. Burnett and 
Lieutenant-Governor McDougall, who were duly in- 
augurated. The archives of the State remained at San 
Jose until January 21st, 1852, though the capitol and 
legislators went to Vallejo and then treked to Sacra- 
mento before securing the State records. 




■ — Courtesy of Grizzly Bear 

Capitol, San Jose, 1849-51. 

The State House at San Jose was an adobe building 
built by Sansevain & Rochon on the south half of lot 
6, block I, range I, south, which is on the east side ot 
Market Square. It had been built for a hotel, and was 
60 feet long, 40 feet wide, two stories high and with a 
veranda in front. The Town Council offered to lease 
the building for the use of the State for $4,000 per 



SAN JOSE' 213 

month, but later decided to purchase the property. The 
owners were unwilling to take the municipal authori- 
ties as security, therefore several citizens executed a 
note for $34,000 and the deed to the property was de- 
livered to trustees, to be delivered to the town when 
payment was made. The town did not pay, and the 
trustees sued the Town Council for the money ad- 
vanced. The building was destroyed by fire at a quar- 
ter past five on the morning of April 29th, 1853. The 
work was the act of an incendiary. The loss was 
estimated at $5,000. Quite a decrease in values. 

San Jose is one of the three pueblos that were joined 
to the missions by El Camino Real. The portion of 
the old road that connected San Jose with Mission 
Santa Clara became the most beautiful part of the 
King's Highway. It was known as the Alameda. It 
was parked with sweeping willow poplars and the 
surface of the roadway was pounded hard as a floor. 
The avenue was one hundred and ninety feet wide and 
was the playground for the Spanish youth of senti- 
mental age. Priests from the mission administered to 
the spiritual needs of San Jose, and on a Sunday San 
Jose went to mass at Mission Santa Clara — along El 
Camino Real, the shaded, beautiful Alameda. Citizens, 
Women's Clubs and Native Sons and Daughters have 
marked this road with the Camino Real Bell guide- 
post at many places. 

Out from San Jose is the great Lick Observatory 
that crowns Mount Hamilton. It is a modern land- 
mark that should not be omitted by travelers. 



MISSION SAN JOSE 

Mission San Jose is fifteen miles north of the town 
of San Jose and 27.5 miles south of Oakland. It is on 
El Camino Real, that is marked by Mission Bell guide- 
posts giving distances and directions. 

Mission San Jose was founded June 11th. 1797, 
Trinity Sunday, by Fr. Fermin Francisco Lasuen. By 
an order from the College of Fernando, Mexico, the 
new mission was dedicated to St. Joseph, the foster- 
father of Our Lord. It was located in the center of a 
rich valley known by the natives as Oroysom or 
Oroyson but by the Spaniards as Santa Clara. A 
wooden structure with grass roof was speedily con- 
structed and Fr. Isidoro Barcenilla and Fr. Augustin 
Merino were placed in charge. The northern missions 
contributed very generously toward the establishment 
of the new one. They sent 12 mules, 12 yoke of oxen, 
39 horses, 242 sheep and 60 pigs. The Indians from the 
adjacent hills proved to be treacherous and cruel, 
feather Cueva after having labored five years among 
them, was cruelly attacked, wounded and almost killed. 
He had been called a long distance from the mission, 
about fifteen miles, to attend some sick neophytes. 
Upon arriving at the rancheria, the natives attacked 
him and his guard with arrows, killing the guard, a 
soldier and three neophytes and wounding Father 
Cueva. On account of the treachery of the Indians, and 
their having made several attempts to do injury to the 
padres and to the buildings, the houses were soon 
reconstructed, and made of brick from the excellent 



216 MISSION SAN JOSE' 

brick-earth near by. There are chalk hills near San 
Jose, and everywhere the soil is rich and fertile. The 
establishment was never extensive nor imposing, yet 
at one time Mission San Jose had a greater number of 
neophytes than any other mission in California, with 
the single exception of San Luis Rey. And the sup- 
plies furnished the presidio at San Francisco amounted 
to $15,125 in nine years. Its highest population was in 
1831 when there were 1,866 persons on the roll. Crops 
averaged annually 1,630 bushels and during the entire 
period of the mission's existence, that is from 1797 to 
1834, the records give the number of baptisms as 
6,737 ; marriages, 1,984; deaths, 5,109. Of produce the 
total amount of wheat was 13,680 bushels ; barley, 
16,750 bushels; corn, 17,290 bushels; beans, 3,790 
bushels, and miscellaneous grains, 8,800 bushels. Mis- 
sion San Jose was secularized in 1836-7. M. G. Vallejo 
was appointed administrator and served until 1840, 
when he was succeeded by Jose Maria Amador. At 
the time the inventory was made of the mission prop- 
erty and it was given into secular control it was valued 
at $155,000, not including church lands or ornaments. 
Among the latter was a great one thousand pound 
bell that had been ordered by Yirmond in April, 1829. 
It bore the name of San Jose Mission. In 1843 the 
mission was returned to the Franciscans to be admin- 
istered by them for the Indians. They made an effort 
to recover the live stock and other assets that had been 
pilfered from the mission by citizens during steward- 
ship, but with poor success. The great herds had dis- 
appeared, the splendid fields were neglected and after 
two years of futile effort to regain the stolen property 
the padres asked to be relieved of the care of the 



MISSION SAN JOSE' 217 

broken-down institution, and the following year, 1846, 
it was sold May 5th by Governor Pio Pico to Andres 
Pico and J. B. Alvarado for $12,000. But as was the 
case w T ith the sale of all of the other missions, the title 
was not sustained, and it was later returned to the 
church. Later it became the property of the sisters 
of St. Dominic, who for some time past have kept 
the small portion that remains, which is only the 
monastery rooms, in habitable appearance. They have 
made a brave effort to collect the widely distributed 
relics together and form a nucleus for future appre- 
ciation, for there is no appreciation now of the mission 
period. The beautiful old font of beaten copper is 
preserved, as are some handsome old robes and some 
silver vessels. Three of the original bells of San Jose 
ring from the belfry of a church nearby. 

Hundreds of thousands of dollars are readily col- 
lected daily for modern statues and memorials, but it 
has taken two years and a half to collect one-half 
enough to restore Mission San Jose. It is estimated 
that the cost would be about $5,500. I believe that 
I am justified in saying that at present there is no 
appreciation of the mission period. 



SAN FRANCISCO AND PRESIDIO 

The Bay of San Francisco and the site upon which 
the city is built were discovered in 1769 by Sergeant 
Jose Francisco de Ortega, who was in charge of the 
advance guard of the Monterey expedition. Governor 
Caspar de Portola was commander of the expedition 
and sent Ortega and his men forward to examine the 
country. They left camp, which was near Monterey, 
on Wednesday, November 1st, and returned in the 
night of November 3rd, discharging their firearms as 
they approached, by which sign all knew that im- 
portant discoveries had been made. Ortega reported 
the discovery of immense estuaries which ran far back 
into the land. It proved to be the Bay of San Fran- 
cisco. A few days later Ortega was sent out again. 
This time his route lay around the contra costa. He 
left on the 7th and returned in the night of the 10th. 
He reported that he had seen another immense 
"Estero" on the northeast, which ran far inland and 
connected with the one on the southeast, and that to 
double it would require many leagues of travel. It is 
of interest to note that the Bay of San Francisco was 
called the "Estero" until some time after the establish- 
ment of the Presidio in 1776. 

The Monterey expedition was unable to find the 
bay of Monterey and through lack of provisions was 
compelled to return to San Diego. When Governor 
Portola reported to Fr. Serra that he had been unable 
to locate the bay of Monterey, but that the expedition 
had traveled about forty leagues further north and had 
found the bay of San Francisco, the holy father's joy 



220 SAN FRANCISCO AND PRESIDIO 

was unbounded — as he well remembered that when 
Galvez the Yisitador-General had assigned the names 
of San Diego, Monterey and San Buenaventura to the 
three missions to be founded he had not designated one 
for the founder of the Franciscan Order, St. Francis, 
and when he remonstrated with him Galvez had said, 
"If St. Francis desires a mission, let him show us his 
harbor and he shall have one" — and lo, here was the 
harbor shown to the explorers when they w 7 ere in 
search of Monterey, which had almost miraculously 
eluded them. When notified, the Visitador-General 
Galvez accepted the discovery as a proof that St. 
Francis wanted a mission. 

The first ship to sail into the Bay of San Francisco 
was the packet boat San Carlos, also called the Golden 
Fleece, commanded by Don Juan Manuel de Ayala, 
whose first pilot was Don Jose de Canizares and the 
second pilot Don Juan Bautista Aguirre. They sailed 
over the bar into the bay on the night of x\ugust 5th, 
1775, and remained w T ithin the port forty-four days, 
making exhaustive examinations of the port of San 
Francisco. His report to the viceroy Don Antonio 
Maria Bucareli was all that could be desired. He speaks 
of an abundance of fresh w r ater, wood and ballast. He 
mentions the weather as being cold, free from fogs and 
healthy. The Indians friendly and the general con- 
ditions as being one of the best "that I have seen on 
this coast from Cape Horn. 

An expedition for the settlement of San Francisco 
and the establishment of a mission was ordered. 

On the 15th of June, 1776, the colony arrived under 
the command of Capt.. Juan Bautista de Anza, and 
pitched their tents, fifteen in number, on the banks of 




Mission Dolores, 1776 

a laguna which emptied into the Bay of San Francisco. 
On the following day, under a canopy of evergreen, 
Fr. Francisco Palou celebrated mass in honor of Sts. 
Peter and Paul, whose feast day it was. The emigrants 
remained encamped here for the entire month awaiting 
the arrival of the packet boat. During the time timbers 
were cut and prepared for the presidio and the mission 
establishment, which was to be built near the laguna 
on the plain. 

August 18th the packet boat arrived. The records 
say: "Most speedily a chapel and storehouses were 
erected at the presidio; a chapel, storehouse and 
dwellings for the padres at the site intended for the 
mission. Soldiers constructed barracks at both places. 
They were made of timbers covered with tule roof." 

Formal possession of the presidio was taken Sep- 
tember 17th. 1776, Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis, 
patron saint of the presidio and the mission. Fr. Palou 
sang mass, blessed and erected a cross, sang the Te 
Deum, after which the officers took possession of the 
place in the name of the king, amidst firing of cannon 



222 



SAN FRANCISCO AND PRESIDIO 



and musketry. Palou says that the founding of the 
mission was delayed through lack of orders from 
Rivera, the commandant. 

Coast defense and presidio buildings was the subject 
matter of voluminous correspondence between the 
officials of California and the viceroys of Mexico, with 
but little effect. In March, 1792, Commandant Sal sent 
Governor Jose Romeu a plan of the presidio building 
at San Francisco, accompanied by an urgent request 




Plan of San Francisco Presidio, 1792 

1. commandant's house, 4 rooms and yard, 111x18 ft., of 
adobe; 2, sergeant's house, of stone, without mortar; 3, chapel. 
57x24 ft.; 4, barracks, guard-house and jail, of adobe and stone: 
5 and 6, storehouses for food and clothing, of stone and mud; 
the remaining structures, soldiers' dwellings. 



SAN FRANCISCO AND PRESIDIO 223 

for improvements, together with eight or ten sailor- 
workmen and a bricklayer to do the work of repairs. 
Vancouver's caustic description gives the best impres- 
sion of the needs of the presidio. It is about as follows : 
The presidio was a square area whose sides were about 
two hundred yards in length enclosed by a mud wall, 
and resembling a pound for cattle. Above this wall the 
thatched roofs of their low small houses just make 
their apperaance. One side was very indifferently 
fenced in by a few brushes here and there, fastened to 
stakes in the ground. The walls were about fourteen 
feet high and five feet in breadth, and were formed by 
uprights and horizontal rafters of large timber, between 
which dried sods and moistened earth formed into 
a sort of mud plaster, which gave it an appearance of 
durability. The church had been whitewashed and 
was neat in comparison to the rest. The commandant's 
house had a dirt Moor raised about three feet from the 
level, and the windows were mere holes in the thick 
walls, without glass. 



lj| 




Presidio, San Francisco, 1850 



224 SAN FRANCISCO AND PRESIDIO 

Sal wrote that many of the buildings were liable to 
fall at any time, and that the church was in a particu- 
larly precarious condition. None of the structures were 
those originally built, as each year some of the build- 
ings had fallen and been rebuilt in the same faulty 
manner. It was necessary to bring timber thirty miles 
and tule nine miles. Despite the appeal and the evi- 
dent need for improvements, all the attention and 
money were spent upon the construction of the Castillo 
de San Joaquin on the shore, and later on the Battery 
of Terba Buena. In 1821 Governor Sola called upon 
the padres through the Prefect Payeras to send a boat 
with timbers and laborers to make certain repairs at 
the presidio. The fathers sent two boat loads of ma- 
terial, two carpenters and twelve axmen, in May, of 
the same year. The Castillo de San Joaquin was use- 
less and the Battery no better. In 1824 conditions 
were not improved. It would seem that through prece- 
dent we have a perfect right to allow our coast defense 
to take care of itself. But what a national disgrace 
that this broad coast of California, bordering on the 
Pacific, is left practically undefended and unprotected. 
Coast defense, forts, marine stations with life-saving 
equipment, submarines and destroyers would protect 
humanity from the terror and rigors of war, then why 
not have them and save the men from the fight by 
placing them behind the fort of protection? In the 
6,000 miles of Pacific coast, under American rule, there 
were but nineteen life-saving stations, as given in the 
annual report of the treasury of 1913, while the Atlan- 
tic coast of but 1,800 miles has 218 stations, and in like 
proportion are we left without forts on the great 
Pacific. 



SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS, MISSION DE LOS 
DOLORES 

Mission Dolores is located on Sixteenth and Dolores 
streets, San Francisco. Take Valencia and Howard 
street cars; distance, three miles from Third and 
Market ; fare, 5 cents. 



Mission San Francisco de Asis is better known as 
Dolores. It is in the heart of San Francisco, surround- 
ed by modern buildings and paved streets, and has 
lost all trace of the old Spanish days. Nothing is left 
of the once large establishment except the small chapel 
building, the facade of which is of charming interest 
and beauty. The dimensions are small, the arrange- 
ments of the columns and the openings for the bells are 
agreeable, the door is pleasing, the wide spreading 
eaves and gently sloping roof crowned with a glisten- 
ing cross makes one think of Dolores as of a picture. 
It faces a beautifully groomed grass plot that extends 
for a block or more. The plot is adorned with two dark 
green Mission Bell guide-posts that mark El Camino 
Real, and each bears a sign directing the traveler on 
his way to the next mission. One of these Bells was 
erected in 1909 by the California Club of San Fran- 
cisco, when Mrs. Alfred Black was President and it 
was christened Saint Francis; the other Bell was 
erected in 1910 by Las Lomas Parlor No. 72, Native 
Daughters of the Golden West and Olympus Parlor 
No. 89, Native Sons of the Golden West. It is on 
Dolores street near Seventeenth. 

Upon entering the old Mission of Dolores one is 



226 MISSION DE LOS DOLORES 

saddened to find the front part of it devoted to the 
sale of curios. A heavy curtain of unclean white can- 
vas divides the shop from the main portion of the 
chapel. Passing between the folds of the canvas the 
first thing that attracts the eye is the original painted 
canvas altar that hangs from ceiling to floor. This 
altar piece was brought from Mexico and for years 
occupied the place that is now given to an elaborately 
carved altar that covers the entire end of the little 
chapel, the central figure of which is Christ on the 
cross ; to the left is the Virgin, and to the right St. Ann. 
Above the Virgin is St. Joaquin ; above St. Ann is 
St. Clara, and above the figure of Christ is St. Michael. 
In small spaces in the corners are two crosses, one 
being designated as the Spanish cross. Across the 
ceiling the chancel is divided from the rest of the 
church by an arch, which is decorated in stripes of 
colors alternating grey, white, yellow, red ; grey, 
white, yellow, red. 

There are two wall decorations as if they had been 
intended for shrines. They are very elaborate ; one 
is to the right of the altar and the other to the left. 
Each has three statues carved in wood and range from 
three to four feet in height. They are San Juan Capis- 
trano, St. Anthony, St. Francis Solano, St. Buena- 
ventura, St. Joseph and San Luis Rev. Services are 
no longer held in the chapel excepting once a year. 
Doors and windows open toward the cemetery — the 
most desolate place that I have ever visited. Trees 
have fallen and are allowed to rest and crush to the 
ground the monuments that mark the graves of many 
of California's greatest men. Not a grave is kept in 
proper condition. The one in the best order is that of 



MISSION DE LOS DOLORES 22/ 

Don Luis Antonio Arguello, the first native Governor 
of California. A magnificent new church of Dolores is 
about completed. It occupies the corner lot on Six- 
teenth street. Large parish buildings are at the rear 
of the little original chapel of Dolores. 

The formal dedication of the Mission San Francisco 
de Asis on the Laguna de los Dolores took place Octo- 
ber 9, 1776. There were present Fathers Palou, Cam- 
bon, Nocedal and Peria, Lieutenant Moraga, and all of 
the Spaniards on the peninsula except a few soldiers 
left to guard the presidio, numbering about 150 per- 
sons in all. High mass was sung by Father Palou ; the 
image of St. Francis was carried about in procession, 
bells were rung, volleys of musketry rent the air, can- 
nons and rockets from the San Carlos were fired, and 
thus the sixth mission in Nueva California was estab- 
lished. "None of the Indians witnessed this solemnity 
— as about the middle of August some left the main 
land and took refuge on the island away from their old 
enemies the Salsonas, who had attacked them. The 
Indians did not return until March, 1777. The first 
baptism was administered in June of that year 
(Palou). 5 ' 

The building that was blessed as a chapel was a 
comfortable house of wood roofed with tules and 
plastered with clay. It measured about 54x30x15 feet. 
The first chapel blessed was at the presidio, on the 17th 
of September, on the Feast of the Stigmata of St. 
Francis, the patron saint of the port and mission. The 
date of July 28th is claimed by many to be the true 
date of the founding of the mission, because Father 
Palou said the first mass on the Feast of SS. Paul and 
Peter in a little hut constructed of branches, although 
it was done against the orders of Rivera, who said that 



228 MISSION DE LOS DOLORES 

the founding of the mission was for the present to be 
suspended. 

The name Dolores (sorrow) in this instance signi- 
fies the name of a stream or lagoon, a place known as 
"the willows" by those who came in 1849. This 
swamp was later filled in and graded, forming the 
tract that lies between Seventeenth, Nineteenth, Val- 
encia and Howard streets. The corner-stone for the 
present church was laid 1782, and by 1795 adobe build- 
ings with tile roofs, forming two sides of a square 
were completed ; also a ditch protecting the potrero or 
cattle farm and fields, had been dug. 

Weaving looms were constructed by the Indians 
and a substantial though coarse kind of blanketing 
was woven as clothing for the neophytes. Vancouver 
described it as "cloth not to be despised, had it re- 
ceived the advantage of fulling." The products made 
and produced at Dolores Mission were soap, salt, wool, 
hides, wine, tallow and butter. The garden was not 
notable for its produce, the reason given being high 
winds and weather unfavorable to horticulture. The 
climate proved detrimental to the Indians, and after 
a severe epidemic of measles, a new mission known as 
the "hospital mission" was founded at San Rafael, 
across the bay, and 590 of the Indians were transferred 
to this place for a change of climate. Later 322 neo- 
phytes were sent to Solano, and it was thought best 
at one time to discontinue the mission at San Fran- 
cisco altogether ; but the idea met stout opposition from 
Father President Sarria. Consequently a new mission, 
known as New San Francisco or Solano, w r as founded, 
and the old San Francisco, known as Dolores, was not 
abandoned. Dolores was not a prosperous mission 
and rapidly declined after secularization. 




CASTILLO DE SAN JOAQUIN 

Work was begun on Castillo de San Joaquin in 
August, 1793. It was intended as a fort to strengthen 
the coast defenses at San Francisco. It was located at 
Fort Point and was to command the entrance to San 
Francisco Bay. Eleven brass nine-pound guns had 
been sent from San Bias in the Aranzazu. A gunner's 
mate, master carpenter, two or three workmen, thirty 
neophytes from the mission, as many more gentiles 
from San Jose formed the working crew to build the 
fort. Adobes, bricks, and tiles were rapidly prepared, 
while choppers were engaged on hewing timbers and 



230 CASTILLO DE SAN JOAQUIN 

transporting them in ox-coarts from the distant for- 
est down the peninsula. Work was pushed forward 
until interrupted by the rains. Early in the spring 
of 1794, after work had been resumed, an order came 
from the viceroy that the fort was to be constructed of 
fascines (bundles of sticks tied together) to avoid 
expense. Notwithstanding the order, Commandant 
Sal continued the work as begun, with adobes and 
bricks. The main walls were of adobes, faced in the 
embrasures with bricks. The fort was completed with 
sentry-box, casemate and other necessary buildings. 
Eight guns of the battery were mounted and on De- 
cember 8th, 1794, the fort was blessed under the name 
of San Joaquin. The Castillo followed the contour of 
the ground and was in dimensions about one hundred 
by one hundred and twenty feet. It cost $6,000. The 
foundation was sand and at every salute or firing of a 
gun, the brick-faced adobe walls crumbled. In fact, 
Castillo de San Joaquin was a failure. 

In 1797 the Battery of Yerba Buena was built. It 
was constructed to do the work that San Joaquin was 
intended for. Work on the Battery was begun May 3rd 
and finished in June. It was constructed of brush- 
wood fascines for the most part with eight embrasures 
Five eight-pound guns not needed at Fort San Joaquin 
were sent to the Battery. No permanent garrison was 
stationed here, but it is recorded that after 1800 the 
works were visited daily by a sentinel, and to a cer- 
tain extent kept in order. 




Portsmouth Square, 1854 



LANDMARKS 

Few landmarks remain in San Francisco, the earth- 
quake of 1906 having obliterated them. The little old 
chapel of Dolores, and the headquartef's building at 
the presidio are the only two real landmarks left. The 
history of these are given in this book under the titles 
of San Francisco and San Francisco de Asis, Mission 
de los Dolores. 

Portsmouth Square is an interesting place as it is the 
site whereon Captain John B. Montgomery, command- 
ing the U. S. sloop of war Portsmouth, raised the 
United States flag on July 8th, 1846, thereby taking 
San Francisco as an United States possession. 

It is a small beautifully sloping hillside that would 
make a magnificent site for a commanding statue of 
Captain Montgomery, but at present it is occupied 
by a fountain dedicated to Robert Louis Stevenson, an 
English writer, which seems strangely out of place. 
It is a striking exemplification of the lack of patriotism 
of American citizens, which is accentuated by the fol- 



232 TEARS FOR THE PORTSMOUTH 

lowing quotation, taken from the A. P. Day Wire, of 
June 7th, 1914: 

"TEARS FOR THE PORTSMOUTH. 

She was a Good Old Sloop of War, but now a Man 
has bought Her for the Junk in Her. 

WASHINGTON, June 7.— The old sloop of war 
Portsmouth, which took possession of San Francisco 
bay for the United States in 1846, destroyed the Chi- 
nese fortifications at Canton in 1856, and later fought 
with Admiral Farragut, was sold today for $3,662, to 
John H. Gregory of Perth Amboy, N. J. The staunch 
old ship lies sunk at her berth in the Norfolk navy yard 
and is good for the material in her hull. Since the 
Civil War she has been used as a training ship." 




U. S. S. Portsmouth 




MILLS COLLEGE 

Mills College, located in a magnificent park border- 
ing on El Camino Real, is a landmark worthy of Cali- 
fornia. It is the only college exclusively for women 
west of the Rocky Mountains, and as such is of unique 
interest, especially since it is the outgrowth of the 
Young Ladies' Seminary founded at Benicia in 1852. 
The Seminar\ was owned and conducted by Miss 
Mary Atkins. In 1865 Dr. .and Mrs. Cyrus T. Mills 
succeeded Miss Atkins as proprietors of the Seminary. In 
1871 they removed it to the present site at the base of the 
Alameda foothills, and changed the name to Mills Semi- 
nar}'. At that time there was no University of California, 
no Stanford University, no Normal Schools, few High 
Schools, and few colleges for women even in the East. 
There were no railroads crossing the continent. The West 
was a wide held of labor, with but small opportunity 
for education. 



234 MILLS COLLEGE 

Rev. Cyrus T. Mills, D. D., had received his education 
at Williams College, under Mark Hopkins, and Mrs. 
Susan Lincoln Mills had been educated at Mount Holyoke 
Seminary, under Mary Lyon. They were experienced 
educators and entered the work in the West with specific 
and exalted plans. The Seminary was to be a home as 
well as a school for young girls, and therein has been the 
success of the institution. Every girl is proud of having 
attended Mills Seminary, which became Mills College 
October 7th, 1885, and deem it to have been a life's privi- 
lege to number among their personal friends Dr. and 
Mrs. Mills. 

In 1877 the Seminary ceased to be private property 
and was incorporated under the laws of California, 
with the provision that the lands, buildings, furniture, 
library and cabinets were to be deeded to a Board of 
Trustees and held by them and their successors for- 
ever — for the express purpose of educating young 
women. Dr. and Mrs. Mills devoted their lives to the 
school. After nearly a quarter of a century of labor as 
an educator in California, Dr. Mills died in 1884. 

The following year a complete college course was 
added to the curriculum and a College Charter granted, 
authorizing Mills College to confer degrees upon its 
graduates. The college is located in the midst of a 
beautiful park of one hundred and fifty acres through 
which flows a charming stream that is crossed with 
artistic bridges and bordered w T ith giant trees and 
sweeping willows. The main building is Mills Hall. 
It is comfortable, capacious and has accommodations 
for one hundred and sixty students and teachers ; it 
has an assembly hall, reception and recitation rooms 
and offices for the President and of the college Dean. 



MILLS COLLEGE 



235 




El Campanil 

Besides this hall there are other dormitories, an art 
library, Carnegie library, history building, hall of 
science, gymnasium and Lisser hall with extensive 
stage and gallery, but above all there is El Campanil, 
the picturesque bell-tower. It was erected by Mr. 
and Mrs. Frank M. Smith, of Oakland. The chimes, 
ten in number, was the gift of Mr. David 11 ewes, of 
Los Angeles. The clock was given by the faculty, 
students and friends of the college. El Campanil, set 
among live oaks and tall eucalyptus trees, gives an 
indescribable charm to the campus. 



236 MILLS COLLEGE 

Great care is taken for the health of the students at 
Mills College. Dr. Mariana Bertola, who has been 
attending physician since 1903, was for many years the 
private physician of Mrs. Mills. The doctor is a mem- 
ber of the San Francisco County Medical Society and 
Fellow of American Medical Association. She has held 
many offices of trust, such as assistant physician Medi- 
cal Clinic, Cooper Medical College, of which college 
she received her degree in 1899 ; interne and later resi- 
dent physician, Children's Hospital, San Francisco, and 
examining physician of the Native Daughters of the 
Golden West. 

Mrs. Mills resigned as President of the college May 
18th, 1909, after forty-four years of continuous service. 
Three years later, at the advanced age of 88, she passed 
away at her home on Leona Heights, on December 
12th, 1912, deeply mourned and greatly beloved. 

Miss Luella Clay Carson, for twenty-one years head 
of the Department of English in the L T niversity of 
Oregon, succeeded Mrs. Mills as President of the col- 
lege. Dr. Carson resigned after five years of service. 
Miss Clara K. Wittenmyer, who was Assistant Presi- 
dent for many years, Dean for five years and at present 
Dean Emeritus, succeeded Dr. Carson. Miss Witten- 
myer has served the college faithfully for twenty-three 
years and was like a daughter to Mrs. Mills, in fact 
was often spoken of by her as her daughter. 

Upon the resignation of Miss Wittenmyer as Dean 
she was succeeded by Miss Hattie B. Ege, professor of 
mathematics, who is now Acting President. 






MISSION SAN RAFAEL ARCANGEL 

Mission San Rafael Arcangel, the Hospital Mission, 
was founded December 14th, 1817, by Fr. Vincente 
Sarria, assisted by Frs. Gil, Duran and Abella, on a 
site called by the Indians, Nanaguani. At first the 
establishment was but an asistencia or branch of the 
Mission San Francisco de Asis, but later it was re- 
garded as an independent establishment or mission. 
Fr. Luis Gil y Taboada was left in charge. 

The mortality among the Indians at San Francisco 
having become alarming, Lieutenant Sola, at the 
presidio, suggested to the Fathers at the mission, that 
a transfer of the neophytes across the bay might prove 
beneficial to their health and arrest the epidemic of 
measles and general anaemic condition. The experi- 
ment was tried with success, and it was therefore de- 
cided to establish a hospital mission at San Rafael. 
The records say the intention was to found "a kind of 
a rancho with its chapel, baptistry and cemetery, with 
the title of San Rafael Arcangel, in order that this most 
glorious prince, whose name signifies the healing of 
God, might care for the bodies and the souls." About 
230 neophytes were sent over from San Francisco and 



238 MISSION SAN RAFAEL ARCANGEL 

were so much benefited in health by the change that 
many others from different missions were sent to re- 
cuperate from various illnesses. The building erected 
at San Rafael in 1818 was a long, low house, 87x42 
feet, separated into rooms by dividing partitions. This 
was added to as the demand for room required. No 
attempt w 7 as ever made to beautify the place archi- 
tecturally. The corridor was roofed w 7 ith tules, the 
bells hung in an artistic group from cross beams in 
front of the entrance, and the entire appearance was 
one of rest and repose. The history is that of any 
church hospital, only this one was self-supporting and 
even furnished supplies to the presidio at San Fran- 
cisco amounting to $1,311 w r orth during the years be- 
tween 1826-30. There were as many as 1,150 Indians 
at San Rafael in 1828; an average crop of grain w r as 
2,454 bushels. The mission was secularized in 1834, 
and an inventory taken which is most interesting: 
Church building $192, ornaments $777, library of 75 
volumes $108, other buildings, $1,123, garden or orch- 
ard $968, boats $500, live stock $4,339, Nicasio Rancho 
$7,256, credits $170, debts $3,448. June 8th, 1846, the 
mission estate was sold to Antonio Sunol and A. M. 
Pico for $8,000, but the title was declared invalid and 
the property returned to the church. 

The mission and all the buildings have long since 
disappeared and the site is now marked by a mission 
bell guide-post bearing a tablet with the following in- 
scription : "Erected 1909 by Mount Tamalpais Parlor. 
N. S. G. YV, San Rafael." 



MISSION SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO 

Mission San Francisco Solano de Sonoma, the 
twenty-first and the last mission to be founded by the 
Franciscans in California, was established by Fr. Jose 
Altimira and twenty soldiers July 4th, 1823 — the date 
generally given is August 25th, because it was upon 
that date that actual work began upon temporary 
buildings. But the erection of buijdings did not con- 
stitute the founding of a mission ; it was the blessing 
of the cross, the chanting of hymns and the celebration 
of Holy Mass. This ceremony took place July 4th, by 
the party that had been sent out to select a site for a 
new mission that was to take the place of Mission 
San Francisco, and the asistencia of San Rafael. Ac- 
cording to the record, the comparative sterility of the 
soil, the insalubrity of the peninsula climate, and 
the broadness of the field for conversion in the north, 
had decided the Prefect Payeras, Governor Argnello 
and Canon Fernandez to transfer them to a new site. 
Accordingly, Fr. Altimira and Francisco Castro, with 
a guard of nineteen men under Alferez Sanchez, em- 
barked June 25th at San Francisco and crossed the bay 
to San Rafael, where they spent the night. On the 
following morning they began their exploration and 
after six days of arduous work and travel they decided 
upon the site called Sonoma (Moon) by the Indians. 
On the 4th of July they formally dedicated the place 
as a site for the mission, named it New San Francisco 
and then returned to Old San Francisco. There was a 
great deal of trouble over Fr. Altimira's peremptory 
method of doing work — but it would seem that he was 



240 MISSION SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO 

at all times sustained and even urged on by Governor 
Arguello. However, the padre,whether duly author- 
ized or not, returned to Sonoma August 25th with an 
escort of twelve men, including an artilleryman to man- 
age a two-pound cannon. They erected a granary, dug 
ditches and built corrals. But on August 31st they 
were interrupted in their work until the difficulties 
could be adjusted. Prefect Payeras had died shortly 
after the first conference and had been succeeded by 
Prefect Senan, who died before adjusting the per- 
plexed question, leaving it to Prefect Sarria, who 
strenuously opposed the transfer. A compromise was 
effected and all three stations were continued. 

A crude structure 105 feet long, 34 feet wide, built 
of boards and whitewashed was constructed and dedi- 
cated on Passion Sunday, April 4th, 1824. Many 
articles were presented by the Russians at Fort Ross, 
Bodega Bay. The new mission was dedicated to the 
honor of San Francisco Solano, the great apostle of the 
Indies. For ten years it was known as San Solano, to 
distinguish it from San Francisco de Asis, which 
strangely became known as Mission Dolores, thereby 
depriving the great Saint Francis of any honor through 
the use of his name. 

In 1824 the mission had a granary, a priest's house 
and seven houses for guards, all of wood. By the end 
of the year a long, low adobe house 120x30 but only 
7 feet high, with tile roof and corridor, had been com- 
pleted and two others were ready for roofing when 
heavy rains melted them back down into mud, for 
adobe bricks are made of a certain kind of mud mixed 
with straw, and sun-dried. 

At the close of the vear 1824 there were 693 neo- 



MISSION SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO 241 

phytes, but all had come from San Francisco, San 
Rafael or San Jose excepting 96, who had been bap- 
tized at Sonoma. The mission was not prosperous. 
It was secularized in 1834, when Gen. Mariano Vallejo 
was made comisionado, and all movable property was 
distributed to the Indians, many of whom returned to 
their rancherias. 

During the entire existence of the mission the num- 
ber of persons baptised was 1,315, marriages 278, and 
deaths 651. The total production of wheat was 13,450 
bushels; barley, 5,9/0 bushels; corn, 3,270; beans, 306 
bushels ; and miscellaneous grains, 640 bushels. It 
must be remembered that all this was accomplished 
within the short space of eleven years, and from virgin 
soil that had to be cleared. 

In 1834 General Vallejo was authorized to lay out 
a plan for a pueblo. He surveyed the lots about the 
plaza and so began the village of Sonoma. The old 
chapel became the parish church and as such was used, 
if any was used, until 1880, when a new church was 
built up on another location and the old ruin was sold 
to a man who used the church for a hay barn and the 
cloisters as a wine repository. In 1910 the Sonoma 
Valley Woman's Club became interested in the preser- 
vation of the old mission as a landmark. The members 
secured a lease on the property and then raised $800. 
with which they made necessary repairs. In this work 
they were assisted by the Native Sons and Daughters 
both of Sonoma and neighboring towns. The property 
was purchased through a public fund, raised by enter- 
tainments and subscriptions, and then donated to the 
State. An appropriation of $5,000 was made by the 
•State Legislature for the restoration. On June 14th, 



242 MISSION SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO 

1914, Old Sonoma Mission was opened to the public 
as a museum. It had been completely restored. The 
State Federation of Women's Clubs placed a Mission 
Bell guide-post at the corner of the mission. 




Bear Flag Monument erected at an exoense of $5,000 appro- 
priated by the State Legislature of California 



BEAR FLAG MONUMENT 243 

The Bear Flag monument standing in the public 
square of Sonoma was unveiled June 14th, 1914, to 
commemorate the Bear Flag Revolution that took 
place in 1846, when a small band of thirty-three men 
under command of Ezekial Merritt entered Sonoma at 
daylight on June 14, took the fort by surprise and cap- 
tured Gen. Mariana G. Vallejo, his brother Salvador, 
and Victor Prudon. This seemingly unwarranted 
action was the outcome of an order issued by Gen. 
Jose Castro, commander-in-chief of the military forces 
of California, whereby all Americans were advised to 
leave the country. The General did not attempt to put 
the proclamation into effect, but continual rumor that 
steps were about to be taken to enforce the order kept 
the righting Americans alert and ready for prompt 
action. .About the 1st of June Castro issued an order 
to Lieut. Francisco de Arce to bring a band of horses 
from Mission San Rafael to Santa Clara. De Arce with 
a guard of fourteen men crossed the Sacramento river 
at New Flelvetia, now Sacramento, with the horses on 
the way to Santa Clara. The Americans organized a 
squad of twelve men, volunteers, under Merritt, who 
intercepted De Arce and his party at daylight on the 
10th of June and captured, without resistance, the 
horses, but left the men to proceed on their way. 
Naturally the Revolution was now on, but without 
any preparation whatsoever. Sonoma was the only 
Mexican fort then in California. It was sustained by 
General Vallejo as protection against the Indians and 
from a certain sense of pride, rather than as an official 
fort. However, the revolutionists believed that it was 
necessary to take this fort, and they proceeded to do 
so. Arriving early on the morning of June 14th they 



244 BEAR FLAG MONUMENT 

captured the town and conveyed the three officers to 
Sutter's Fort for safe-keeping. Ezekial Merritt with a 
guard conducted the prisoners to Sutter's, while a 
garrison of eighteen men under William B. Tde was 
left at Sonoma. In a few r days the number was in- 
creased to about forty. A partial organization was 
effected under the name of the "Republic of California," 
and the Bear Flag w r as made as the emblem of the 
Republic. A letter written by William L. Todd, the 
man who painted the Flag, under date of January 11th, 
1878, and printed many times, gives perhaps the best 
and most authentic history and description of it. He 
says : "I have to say in regard to the making of the 
original Bear Flag of California at Sonoma, in 1846, 
that when the Americans, who had taken up arms 
against the Spanish regime, had determined what kind 
of a flag should be adopted, the following persons per- 
formed the work : Granville P. Swift, Peter Storm, 
Henry L. Ford, and myself. We procured in the house 
where we made our headquarters a piece of new un- 
bleached cotton domestic, not quite a yard wide, w T ith 
stripes of red flannel about four inches wide, furnished 
by Mrs. John Sears, on the lower side of the canvas. 
On the upper left-hand corner was a star, and in the 
center was the image made to represent a grizzly bear, 
passant, so common in this country at the time. The 
bear and star were painted with paint made of linseed 
oil and Venetian red or Spanish brown. Underneath 
the bear were the words "California Republic." The 
other persons engaged with me got the materials to- 
gether, while I acted as artist. The forms of the bear 
and star and the letters were first lined out with pen 
and ink by myself, and the two forms were filled in 



BEAR FLAG MONUMENT 



245 



with red paint, but the letters with ink. The flag men- 
tioned by Mr. Hittell with the bear rampant was made, 
as I always understood, at Santa Barbara, and was 
painted black. Allow me to say, that at that time 
there was no wheelwright shop in California. The flag 
I painted I saw in the rooms of the California Pioneers 
in San Francisco, in 1870, and the Secretary will show 
it to any person who will call on him at any time. If 
it is the one that I painted, it will be known by a 
mistake in tinting out the words 'California Republic.' 
The letters were first lined out with a pen and I left 
out the letter T and lined out the letter 'C in its place. 
But afterward I lined out the letter T over the 'C/ so 
that the last syllable of 'Republic' looks as if the two 
last letters were blended." This flag was destroyed in 
the earthquake-fire at San Francisco in 1906. 




— Courtesy of Grizzly Bear 

State Flag of California 



CASA GRANDE 

Casa Grande is the old adobe ranch house and home 
of Gen. Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, the last military 
Governor of California. It is in the foothills of the 
Sonoma Mountains, about three miles from Petaluma. 
The Vallejo rancho consisted of 75,000 acres and was a 
portion of the Arroyo de Lema land grant, the con- 
fines of which were the Sonoma creek on the east, the 
Petaluma creek on the west, San Pablo bay to the south 
and toward the north the limits were undefined. The 
old adobe commands a beautiful view and was in pro- 
portions like a gentleman's country home in Spain. 
General Vallejo called it Lachryma Mortis, but for 
some unaccountable reason the name has been changed 
to Casa Grande. It was built by him between the years 
of 1834 and 1844, when California was still a Mexican 
province. The rambling old house together with five 
acres of ground has passed into the control of Petaluma 
Parlor No. 27, Native Sons of the Golden West, and it 
is to their credit and energy that the historic old place 
is in good repair. Casa Grande is a spacious house 
with a frontage of one hundred and fifty-nine feet, the 
walls are two and one-half feet thick, made of adobe 
and plastered inside and out. It is an old landmark 
well worthy of restoration. The members of Petaluma 
Parlor did a great deal of the work themselves, and on 
April 20th, 1911, they held a public reception and 
opened the old place for inspection. It is in charge of 
a care-taker. 




Q. 
O 



FORT ROSS 

Fort Ross, the only Russian settlement made within 
the State of California, is an interesting landmark, it 
is at present a ruin. The property, consisting of about 
two and one-half acres of ground upon which stands 
the ruins of an old Greek chapel and remnants of a 
block house or bastion, is the property of the State, 
having been purchased through public subscription 
from George W. Call for the sum of three thousand 
dollars. Mr. Call had been in possession of the old 
fort for thirty years, it having been a part of a land 
grant or ranch of 8,000 acres, which he purchased in 
1873. 

The history of Fort Ross dates from the year 1806. 
when Prince Rezanof visited the shores of California 
in search of a proper site for a town and vegetable 
farm whereby the Russians from Alaska might estab- 
lish a supply station. The site selected was Bodega 
Bay, a place discovered by Lieutenant Bodega in 1775. 
and called by the Indians Mad-shui-nui. In March. 
1811, the Russians took possession of the place. The 
expedition was under command of Ivan Alexandrovich 
Kuskof, who came with ninety convicts and eighty 
Aleuts in a neat little brig called Chirikof. They cast 
anchor in the bay and renamed it Rumiantzof. The 
Russians paid to the chief of the Indian tribe of Mayac- 
mas, who laid claim to the site, the sum of three 
blankets, three pairs of Russian breeches, two axes, 
three hoes, and a quantity of beads. 

The Aleuts fished for seal and otter, while twenty- 
five mechanics cut timber for the houses and fort. By 
September the buildings were ready for dedication 
and occupancy. The tenth of the month being the 



250 FORT ROSS 

name-day of Alexander, the Emperor of Russia, these 
rough men of the frontier, under the direction and 
guidance of Kuskof, held a picturesque service of song 
and feast, and ended the festival by dedicating the fort 
as "Little Rossiya," meaning "Little Russia." Year by 
year buildings were added to Little Rossiya, until the 
village became known far and wide as Fort Ross. 
Kuskof, the agent of the Russian Fur Company of 
Alaska, took pride in his village. He surrounded it 
with a stockade defence twelve feet in height made of 
heavy redwood timbers set upright in the ground. 
Within the stockade were the officers' headquarters, 
granaries, workshops, an immense windmill and bath- 
house. In one corner was a block-house built of tim- 
bers a foot thick, and in another corner was a chapel, 
both used as towers of defence. The block-houses and 
the stockade were finished with embrasures from which 
cannon protruded. Outside the stockade were the huts 
for the Aleuts and natives. There was but one entrance 
to the stockade and but one approach from the sea, 
which was by way of stairs cut in the rock. 

In 1839-40 Capt. John A. Sutter effected the purchase 
of the concessions and equipment which the Russians 
held at Fort Ross. They consisted of a charter from 
Spain permitting the holder thereof to take furs ; a 
vessel of twenty-five tons burden ; personal and house- 
hold property ; two thousand head of cattle ; one thou- 
sand head of horses, and all other animals such as 
sheep, mules, goats, fowls, etc. But to Captain Sutter 
the most important of all was forty pieces of cannon 
and a quantity. of old French flint-lock muskets. Sut- 
ter gave personal notes to the - Russians for about 
$100,000, and conveyed the property over to his fort. 








W filial 







SUTTER'S FORT 



Sutter's Fort, Sacramento, was built by Capt. John 
A. Sutter in 1841-2. It became the headquarters for 
the American emigrants who began about that time 
to pour into the Far West. As early as 1839 Captain 
Sutter had procured from the Mexican Government a 
grant of land lying at the junction of the Sacramento 
and American rivers — the actual boundaries were in- 
definite, but the conditions whereby he. received the 
grant were explicit, and they were that he must settle 



252 SUTTER'S FORT 

and civilize the country included in his grant. The 
Captain carefully laid his plans for the future and they 
included the construction and fortification of a strong- 
hold that would protect him against the marauding 
Indians. 

By 1842 Captain Sutter had built a veritable fort. It 
was enclosed within a square of about two hundred 
feet, which was surrounded by a four-foot thick adobe 
wall, about eighteen feet in height. Within this en- 
closure was Sutter's home, a large three-story house. 
Arranged along the walls were small houses for the 
use of workmen. The place was fortified by means of 
two bastions at right angles, which commanded the 
wall in all directions, with shifting guns. The walls 
were surrounded or rather surmounted with swivels, 
small cannon. The guns had been purchased from the 
Russians at Fort Ross, on Bodega Bay. Under the 
bastions were located prisons. The fort could easily 
accommodate one hundred persons, but more frequent- 
ly had three to five hundred within its protecting walls. 
The above description is from the journal kept by a 
shipmaster who visited the fort in 1841, during its 
course of construction. His description was verified 
by the late Winfield Davis, who made a careful investi- 
gation through the assistance of Gen. John BidwelK 
who was for many years a clerk for Colonel Sutter. 

During the race and rage for gold from 1849 to 1852 
a horde of unscrupulous squatters settled upon Sutter's 
lands and virtually usurped his every right, and this 
was done despite his renowned hospitality and gen- 
erosity toward the emigrants who flocked into the new 
country. By 1852 Captain Sutter was a bankrupt and 
his Fort of Great Friendship, being no longer a neces- 



SUTTER'S FORT 253 

sity; was deserted. For ten years this most generous 
of all pioneers struggled to recover through law some 
portion of his rightful lands, but failing to do so was 
finally forced to retire to the Hock Farm, which was 
about the only piece of property that he was able to 
save out of the wreck. The injustice done Captain 
Sutter is shown by the fact that though his title to 
lands was declared by law to be void, yet was he com- 
pelled by the same law to defend the warranty deeds 
that he had given to this land. In 1865 a disastrous fire 
destroyed his home on the Hock Farm. In 1870 a 
pension of $250 was granted by the United States 
Government to Sutter as the discoverer of gold in Cali- 
fornia, but the biography of James Marshall, which 
appeared in print the same year, reversed the decision 
— and quite justly — the pension was withdrawn and 
one awarded to Marshall instead. 

General Sutter and his family moved to Lititz, Penn- 
sylvania, a Moravian village, where his children at- 
tended school, but he spent most of his time in Wash- 
ington, D. C, pursuing his claims of equita, which he 
never got. 

Gen. John A. Sutter died at "Washington on the 18th 
of June, 1880, and lies buried beside his wife in the 
Moravian cemetery at Lititz, Penn. The Native Sons 
of the Golden West have generously offered to remove 
his body to California that it might rest in the fort, now 
well repaired, at Sacramento, but direct descendants of 
the family oppose the removal. 

Nine years after the death of General Sutler, the 
project to restore the old fort was agitated and a com 
mittee of citizens of Sacramento, with Mr. C. E. Grum 
sky as surveyor, located the lines of walls — for all had 



254 MARSHALL'S MONUMENT 

long ago been torn down. Quoting from the late Mr. 
Davis, a member of the committee, is the following: 
"It was known that the corner jutting into L street, 
was where charcoal for the blacksmith shop had been 
stored. By digging down, it determined the exact angle 
of that corner. A mound showed where a bastion had 
stood at the corner, and from these two established 
points it was not difficult to ascertain how the walls 
ran. A drawing was made of the fort and a ground 
plan prepared, and they were submitted to everybody 
then living who was familiar with the fort as it origi- 
nally stood. Gen. John Bidwell, who had been Sutter's 
clerk as early as 1841, took great pains in this matter, 
and his carefully written description of the old fort is 
still in my possession." Restoration was long delayed, 
but when the site of the old landmark became the prop- 
erty of the State of California, over $100,000 was appro- 
priated at different times to restore and beautify 
Sutter's Fort. 

MARSHALL MONUMENT 

The Marshall Monument at Coloma, El Dorado 
County, is a memorial erected to James W. Marshall 
as the recognized discoverer of gold in California. It 
is a massive bronze statue representing James W. 
Marshall as a miner and was erected by the State of 
California in 1889. It serves alike as a tomb for his 
body and a monument to his work. 

There are many persons and counties that claim the 
honor of having been the first to discover gold in this 
State, but it is certain that it was left for James Wilson 
Marshall to find it in sufficient quantity and quality 
to arouse and set on fire the cupidity of the commercial 



MARSHALL'S MONUMENT 255 

and industrial world. He is no longer considered the 
first man to have discovered gold but the one who 
discovered it in such quantities that men and women 
braved every known danger that they might share in 
the wonderful shower of gold. To have been the per- 
son responsible for such a condition is to have been 
a person of interest and therefore worth writing about. 

James Wilson Marshall was a native of New Jersey 
and a wheelwright by trade. He came to California in 
1837 or 1838 via New Mexico and settled about six 
miles east of Mount Diablo, Contra Costa County. 
After John A. Sutter built his home at New Helvetia, 
later called Sutter's Fort, Marshall became his wheel- 
wright and carpenter. He made wheels for spinning 
wool, looms, reeds and shuttles for weaving yarn for 
blankets for the Indians. In 1847 Sutter required a 
grist-mill at the fort, but not having any lumber near- 
by he sent Marshall to select a site for a sawmill. Mar- 
shall selected the Valley of Coloma, about forty-five 
miles from Sutter's Fort, a place that had plenty of 
good yellow pine and sufficient water power from the 
South Fork of the American river. 

An agreement was entered into between Marshall 
and Sutter whereby a sawmill should be built. Mar- 
shall was to supply the labor and Sutter the necessary 
money for the project. Each was to receive certain 
profits in the lumber business. The agreement was 
writen by Col. John Bidwell, then a clerk at Sutter's, 
and was signed August 27th, 1847, and work was com- 
menced immediately. A wagon road connecting the 
sawmill with Sutter's was made and the mill was com- 
pleted about Christmas time. But, alas, the mill was 
defective. The wheel had been placed too low. To 



256 MARSHALL'S MONUMENT 

rectify this defect a tail-race was dug through a gravel- 
ly bar that backed the water and submerged the wheel. 
Each morning Marshall examined the race as the water 
ran through, clearing away the dirt that had been 
loosened by the Indian workers the day before. On 
the morning of January 24th, 1848, his attention was 
drawn to some bright metal at the bottom of the race. 
He picked it up, but not knowing gold when he saw 
it, he took it into the cabin and consulted Mrs. Martha 
Jane Wimmer, cook for the camp. According to her 
story she put it into a kettle of soap that she was 
making with lye and grease, and boiled it for a long 
time. The value of such a test is difficult to conjecture. 
But between the Wimmer's and Marshall they decided 
that it was gold. Marshall took several nuggets down 
to Sutter's, and after testing it to their satisfaction it 
was pronounced gold. 

Sutter had really nothing to do with the discovery 
of gold at the sawmill, but he allowed himself to enjoy 
for many years the pleasure of the notoriety of being 
the discoverer, and even went so far as to accept in 
1870 a pension from the State of $250. Fortunately the 
biography of James W. Marshall appeared in print the 
same year, and his claim to the honor and benefits of 
discoverer was proven by the diary of Henry W. 
Bigler, one of the Mormon laborers at the mill-site at 
the time. The extract from the diary is as follows: 
"Monday 24th, this day some kind of mettle was found 
in the tail race that looks like goald, first discovered 
by James Martial the Boss of the Mill. Sunday 30th, 
clear and has been all the last week our metal has been 
tried and proves to be goald it is thought to be rich 



MARSHALL'S MONUMENT 257 

we have pict up more than a hundred dollars worth 
last week." 

The biography of Marshall reversed the decision, the 
pension to Sutter Avas withdrawn and one granted to 
Marshall instead. For six years he enjoyed the benefit. 
The Legislature granted him $9j600, but finally left 
him to die in poverty and privation. This was due, of 
course, to his own improvidence. He became an in- 
ebriate and died alone in a cabin where he and another 
miner batched. He was found dead lying on his bunk, 
fully dressed with his hat pulled down over his face, a 
human derelict. The magnitude of this man's oppor- 
tunity was too great for him, but it was not too great 
for California. 

The discovery of gold in California in great quanti- 
ties at the time when it was discovered by Marshall 
undoubtedly saved the Union of the Nation. In our 
greatest hour of need, during the trying years of 
1861-5, California poured over $300,000,000 of her gold 
into New York, thereby enabling the Government to 
sell its bonds and in consequence have money where- 
with to clothe, feed and maintain the army and navy 
that was struggling to maintain the Union of the 
Nation. Had California elected to enter the Union as 
a slave State, this money would have gone to the 
South. As it was, she came in as a free State and 
thereby swung the balance in the scale toward Free- 
dom. 

It is of interest to note that the Treaty of Cahuenga, 
whereby California became an American possession, 
was signed January 13th, 1848, eleven days prior to the 
discovery of gold by James Marshall, and that the 
treaty was ratified and signed by Mexico February 2nd, 



258 MARSHALL'S MONUMENT 

1848, and similar action taken by the United States 
Congress May 30th, 1848, all of which was done before 
the world knew or realized that gold in great and pay- 
ing quantities had been discovered in California. With 
in the next four years $143,000,000 worth of the pre- 
cious metal had been extracted from the gold mines of 
this State. 

Gold had been mined in California since 1842, but 
not in quantities sufficient to attract attention. It was 
discovered in paying quantity by Francisco Lopez, a 
herdsman, living at the time at the Piru Rancho. He 
made the discovery in the Santa Feliciana Canon, Los 
Angeles County, about ten miles northwest of New- 
hall and forty miles from Los Angeles. Several dates 
are given by as many different persons. It is only 
certain that it was either in the year of 1841 or 1842 
that Lopez made the discovery, and as for the month 
it is given as either March, April or June. The quan- 
tity was stated by Don Abel Stearns to be from six to 
eight thousand per year until after the American occu- 
pation, while Bancroft says that $38,000 worth of gold 
was shipped from the San Fernando mines in 1843. 
These were the same mines. 



EL CAMINO REAL 




ELCAMINO REAL 

MISSION SAN GABRIEL 9 
«e MISSION SAN FERNANDO 23 



n 

MM 

3MJ 




Mission Bell Guide-Post Marking El Camino Real 



El Camino Real 

The Royal Road — the King's Highway. 

El Camino Real is the Spanish name for the road that 
joined the twenty-one missions, three pueblos and 
four presidios in the early days of California. It 
extended from 

"Fair Sonoma city, south to San Diego bay 
As a ribbon of a roadway, called 
The King's Highway." 

The Camino Real was like a chain that linked 
together Father Serra's rosary, the missions, about 
which lingers the memory of a saint and the scent 
of a rose. 

The establishment of the California missions began 
during the reign of the Spanish Bourbon king Carlos 
III, when he commenced the colonization of the Golden 
State of California. Preparations for the project were 
made by Don Jose de Galvez, Visitador-General, 
who was assisted by Don Caspar de Portola, Governor 
of California, and Father Junipero Serra, President of 
the Missions. Their plans included the establishment 
of missions, the erection of presidios or garrisons and 
the founding of pueblos or towns. There soon arose 
about these settlements a picturesque adobe ancj 
ranchero civilization unequalled for local color, relig< 
ious fervor and romantic life by any other colony 
ever established in the United States. 

The highway along which the picturesque civiliza- 
tion centered was El Camino Real, the Royal Road, 
the King's Highway, the recognized route of official 
travel when California was a part of Spain. 

El Camino Real commenced at San Diego and lead 
from mission to pueblo or presidio ending at Sonoma 



262 EL CAMINO REAL 

the last of the mission establishments. So far as 
surroundings would permit the life and conditionsr 
along this road was but a reflection of the life and 
conditions in distant Spain where the caminos reales 
date from 1236. 

In that year the great crusader, Fernando III, king 
of Castile and Leon, took the Moorish city and king- 
dom of Cordova. Upon entering the capital city of 
Cordova on the Catholic feast day of Saints Peter 
and Paul, he marched to the great Mosque and had it 
purified with holy water under the supervision of 
John, Bishop of Osma, and converted it into a Chris- 
tian Church, naming it Mother of God. He estab- 
lished a bishopric and he had the Great Bells of Com- 
postella which Almansor had brought to Cordova on 
the backs of Christians returned to Compostella on the 
back of Moors. With the conquest of Cordova the 
Kingdom of the Moors was officially taken but the 
outside towns and principalities were yet to be sub- 
dued. In order to more readily complete the con- 
quest, Ferdinand had the pathways of the Moors 
converted into military roads, and with the invention 
of the carreta these roads were widened, graded, and 
made into excellent roadways — smooth and fit for the 
cumbersome, lumbering carreta. As the improvement 
was made by the King, special laws were enacted for 
the protections of travelers and the protection of the 
roads which became known as caminos reales, or royal 
roads. They were placed under the surveillance of 
special guards. 

In the seventeenth century the caminos reales of 
Spain were the envy of the world. They were beau- 
tified by trees, enhanced by picturesque ventas, or 



EL CAMINO REAL 263 

inns, and enriched with national and memorial mon- 
uments. With the discovery of America, Spain gave 
to her colony of California the attractive and pic- 
turesque system of civilization that evolved the chain 
of twenty-one missions, three pueblos, and four pre- 
sidios, all linked together by a camino real, or royal 
road. In place of ventas, missions were built, and the 
road that joined them was embellished by the unfet- 
tered beauties of luxuriant sylva, flora, and w T ild vege- 
tation, varied with the silver trail of water-fall, and 
the deep green-blue of billowy sea. 

When the first expedition for the settlement of Cal- 
ifornia left San Diego for Monterey, Father Juan 
Crespi, a Franciscan friar, was entrusted with the im- 
portant duty of recording the route. His diary and 
notes prove that the major portion of the route trav- 
eled by this expedition was later accepted as the 
official road and made the camino real of the mis- 
sions. After founding the second mission, that of 
San Carlos de Monterey, orders were given to open 
up and keep in repair a road for transportation of sup- 
plies and for traffic between San Diego and Monterey. 
As each succeeding mission was established the duty 
of maintaining the road fell to those missions which 
it directly connected. Indians were employed con- 
stantly upon the task and were paid from the treasury 
the same as for other work and were given a home and 
board at the mission. In time portions of El Camino 
Real became beautiful, excellent highway. But it is a 
mistake to think that the Franciscans ever made of 
the American Camino Real one that compared with 
those of Spain, for they did not. Yet in the project 
to revive the sentiment of the historic road there is the 



264 EL CAMINO REAL 

opportunity to make of El Camino Real aRambla such 
as they had in Spain, with long vistas of California's 
glorious trees; with small groups of radiant flowering- 
trees ; varied by artistic hedges of interesting cacti, and 
trellises of creeping, sweet Castilian roses leading to 
some memorial monument, fountain or shrine erected 
to the memory of some discoverer, navigator, Indian 
or padre. 

This would in a manner compensate for the loss of 
the virgin beauty that must have enveloped California's 
historic road before civilization began to farm away 
the charm of the wild. 

The project to revive and reconstruct so far as 
possible and practicable this first route through the 
AVest, crystallized in 1904 after a decade of propa- 
ganda tending to arouse interest in the old missions 
and El Camino Real. A meeting was called by the 
Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles and after a 
great deal of discussion it was decided to appoint a 
committee to make arrangements for forming a per- 
manent organization. This committee called a con- 
vention of delegates to meet at Santa Barbara April 
19th and 20th, 1904. The delegates represented cities, 
Chambers of Commerce, County Supervisors, High- 
way Commissions, Automobile Clubs, Women's Clubs, 
Historical Societies, Native Sons and Daughters Par- 
lors, Pioneer Societies, Camera Clubs, Farmers' Clubs, 
Landmarks Club and League, Improvement Associa- 
tions, League of American Wheelmen and Driving- 
Clubs- — in fact, no convention could have had, nor 
desired, a more representative meeting. People were 
aroused to the fact that the time was opportune to 
besrin work on the rehabilitation of the old historic 



EL CAMINO REAL 265 

road. An organization was formed under the title of 
The Camino Real Association of California. A Com- 
mittee on Location was appointed with instructions to 
study the road, prepare a map, and then report to the 
State Executive Committee. The report was given 
in 1905 and says : "We have had an abstract and map 
of all old roads in Los Angeles and Orange counties 
made for us by the Title Indemnity & Trust Co., now 
merged with the Title Guarantee & Trust Co. From 
this abstract and map the work of re-locating El 
Camino Real was begun by the committee on location 
appointed for that purpose. The names of the com- 
mittee are Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes, chairman; Hon. R. F. 
Del Valle, Col. J. P>. Lankershim, Rev. Juan Cabal- 
leria and Mr. O. W. Longdon, county supervisor. The 
work on location has been verified by church records, 
disenos of ranchos, and valuable information from old 
Spanish settlers, until now there is not one mile of the 
old road that once joined the twenty-one missions that 
has not been investigated, and we find that El Camino 
Real of old is the main traveled road of today and that 
it joins the missions, the county scats, and centers of 
population in the counties through which it passes — ■ 
as is shown by the general route of El Camino Real as 
given below : Mission San Diego to Old Town, via 
Rose Canon to Oceanside, then inland to Mission San 
Luis Rcy and Pala. From Oceanside, El Camino Real 
leads to Mission San Juan Capistrano, Myford-Irving, 
Tustin, Santa Ana, Orange, Anaheim, Fullerton, La 
Habra, Whittier, Mission San Gabriel, to Los Angeles; 
or from Mission San Gabriel the Camino Real de San 
Bernardino goes to El Monte, La Puente, Pomona, 



266 EL CAMINO REAL 

Claremont, Uplands, Cucamonga, Etiwanda, San Ber- 
nardino, Redlands and Colton. 

From Los Angeles El Camino Real leads to Holly- 
wood, through Cahuenga Pass to Sherman Way, thence 
to Mission San Fernando, or from Sherman Way to 
Calabasas, Camarillo, Mission San Buenaventura, Mis- 
sion Santa Barbara, Gaviota, Mission Santa Inez, Mis- 
sion La Purisima (near Lompoc), Los Olivos, Santa 
Maria, Mission San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Mis- 
sion San Miguel, Jolon, Mission San Antonio de Padua, 
ruins of Mission Soledad, Salinas to Monterey and Mis- 
sion Carmel, or from Salinas to Mission San Juan 
Bautista, San Jose and Mission San Jose, Hayward, 
San Leandro to Oakland ; or from San Jose to Santa 
Clara, Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Mateo, Colma, 
Ocean View to Mission de los Dolores and the pre- 
sidio ; or to the water front where the boats went over 
to Mission San Rafael, which is totally gone. The old 
road is well known that joined the two Missions of San 
Rafael and San Francisco Solano de Sonoma." The 
report was accepted unanimously, and it was decided 
to mark the route by an appropriate and distinguishing 
marker. In 1906 the executive board approved the 
design of the Mission Bell guide-post and adopted it 
as the official road-marker for El Camino Real. The 
design was drawn by Mrs. A. C. S. Forbes of Los 
Angeles, who secured a copyright and design patent 
in order to preserve the bell for exclusive use on El 
Camino Real. 

The greater portion of El Camino Real has been 
incorporated in the splendid system of State High- 
ways of California. It is with but very few exceptions 
route No. 2 of the State. Highway through the coast 



EL CAMINO REAL 267 

counties. It is a continuous road over seven hundred 
miles in length and passes through scenes of varied 
beauty and interest, ranging from sun-kissed hills to 
snow-crowned mountains, from foaming breakers to 
expansive fields of golden grain from miles of orange 
and lemon groves to equal miles of beets and beans. 
Along the road are hamlets and cities divided from 
each other by broad stock ranges flecked with the 
native live-oak and here and there trickling springs. 
It is now marked by four hundred Bell guide-posts. 
The bell was adopted as being emblematic of the 
work and intent of the founders of the missions. 
Church bells are a part of the Catholic service and 
when the padres came to California they came with the 
cross and bell. They swung the bells in the trees 
and rung them to call the wandering Indians together 
to assist in establishing the missions — so El Camino 
Real Association erected bells to draw the wavering 
sentiment of this day of golden lust to an appreciation 
of the work accomplished by a band of noble pioneers, 
and at .the same time to mark the historic road of 
California in such a manner that a stranger need but 
follow the Bells of El Camino Real and find the way 
from San Diego to San Francisco over the best and 
most direct route. 

The Bells have been donated by different organiza- 
tions, cities, Boards of Supervisors, Women's Clubs, 
Native Sons and Daughters, Pioneer Societies, Asso- 
ciations and individuals. There has been an excellent 
spirit of co-operation and the work is nearly done — 
the old road is a splendid highway and the history 
and romance of the past clings about it like a shimmer- 
ing veil. 



268 EL CAMINO REAL 




El Camino Real 
Association 

of 
California 



A. S. C. Forbes, President 

El Camino Real Association of California is the out- 
growth of a Good Roads movement formulated many- 
years ago and which was exemplified in a proposed 
California Road to be known as El Camino Real . The 
first wide publicity given to this movement was made 
when the general plan for the project was formally 
presented before the Sixth Biennial of the General 
Federation of Women's Clubs held in Los Angeles 
May, 1902, and unanimously endorsed. It was pre- 
sented through the General Art Committee, of which 
Mrs. Albert H. Brockway was chairman. In presenting 
it through this committee the Pasadena Exhibition As- 
sociation, Miss Anna B. Pitcher, director, suggested 
and maintained the fact that the California Franciscan 
Missions as "Stations'' on the Camino Real, were the 
most important art treasures in the possession of the 
United States. The general plan is as follows, and 
gives the object of the Road movement. 

"1. Tracing the original Government Road of 
Spanish California from San Diego to San Francisco 



EL CAMINO REAL 269 

Solano, through present succeeding counties and re- 
cording the history and traditions of this Road. 

2. Proving the present adaptability of portions of 
the road for the purpose of a California State High- 
way, with the 21 Franciscan missions as both stations 
and landmarks upon it, one Spanish day's journey 
apart. 

3. Petitioning County Supervisors to assist the 
movement and record by County Surveyors the pres- 
ent road, where it exists, and its intersection with 
other roads and boulevards suitable for a State High- 
way. 

4. Further petitioning Supervisors to unite in ask- 
ing the State of California to survey the existing por- 
tions of this Camino Real and put mile-stones upon it 
which shall record its history. 

5 Interesting residents and strangers in making 
gradually of this road a MEMORIAL HIGHWAY, 
preserving its Spanish name, as well as a "model'' 
road meeting Government approval." 

The following month, that is June, the plan for the 
restoration was presented by Miss Pitcher to the 
Grand Parlor of Native Daughters of the Golden West, 
then in session, and received endorsement. By reason 
of the serious illness of Miss Pitcher, who had worked 
assiduously for over ten years on this propect, Mrs. 
A. S. C. Forbes, of Los Angeles, then State chair- 
man of the California History and Landmarks De- 
partment of the State Federation of Women's Clubs, 
became her successor, and continued the crusade for 
this historic road. The work was placed in this De- 
partment by Miss Pitcher and Mrs. Bulkley, State 
President of the Federation, as is seen from the quota- 



270 EL CAMINO REAL 

tion from a letter from the former to the latter under 
date of December 30th, 1902, as follows: "Nothing 
would be quite so desirable as the presentation ( at the 
State Convention) of the Camino Real by Mrs. Forbes. 
I would like the road plan taken up both as California 
History and Landmarks work. Let me say again how 
anxious I am to reach Oakland and the north for the 
Camino Real plan." 

Again, in a general statement furnished Mrs. Forbes 
by Miss Pitcher is the following : "This letter (refer- 
ring to one to Mrs. Dennison, President of the Gen- 
eral Federation), would recognize the introduction of 
the Camino Real by Mrs. Brockway and the Art Com- 
mittee ; explaining the present proposition to put it 
as a practical working plan into the hands of the State 
Federation and asking a continuance of Mrs. Brook- 
way's interest and patronage." 

Therefore with this authority Mrs. Forbes of the. 
History and Landmarks Department and Mrs. C. R. 
Olney of Oakland, conferred together and outlined a 
plan for a state organization that definite action toward 
the restoration of El Camino Real might be taken. 

The idea of a state organization met with opposition 
from some members of the Landmarks Club who advo- 
cated an organization which should be auxiliary to and 
controlled by the Landmarks Club with only that part 
of the Camino Real to be considered and improved 
that lies south of the Tehachepi, and they also opposed 
state aid in the construction of the road. Mrs. Forbes 
and Mrs. Olney based their project on the original 
plan which included state aid and a historic road from 



EL CAMINO REAL 271 

San Diego to Sonoma to be called El Camino Real. In 
this they were supported by a great majority of the • 
Women's Clubs and Native Daughters. They ap- 
pealed to the Native Sons to uphold the unity of the 
state ; they appealed to the automobile clubs and good 
roads clubs that a continuous state highway might 
eventually be made from San Diego to the northern 
confine of the state; they secured the support of the 
historical societies, that research might be simplified 
and connected, and they appealed to all broad minded 
persons to support a plan that would include the 
restoration of all of the chain that connected all of the 
missions — and they were supported by an overwhelm- 
ing majority, but not without a struggle. 

At the suggestion of the Landmarks Club a conven- 
tion was called by Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce 
for January 3rd, 1904, to formulate plans for a Camino 
Real Association. Other Chambers of Commerce, 
Native Sons and Daughters, Supervisors, Historical 
Societies, Women's Clubs, Automobile Clubs and many 
commercial organizations were invited to attend, and 
they did so. Especially the Native Sons and Daugh- 
ters with the result that the advocates for a state 
organization with state aid carried the meeting. A 
committee of fifteen was appointed to make arrange- 
ments and draft a call for a convention to organize a 
permanent State Camino Real Association, and also 
for the election of delegates to the Good Roads con- 
vention to be held at St. Louis, May 16th, 1904. Names 
of the committee of fifteen are as follows : Dr. Milbank 
Johnson, President of the Automobile Club of South- 
ern California ; Walter R. Bacon, President of the 
Historical Society of Southern California; Henry E. 



272 EL CAMINO REAL 

Carter, Native Son of the Golden West; Mrs. A. S. C. 
Forbes, Chairman of California History and Land- 
marks Department for the State Federation of 
Women's Clubs; E. T. Earl, Driving Club; Dr. O. S. 
Barnum, League of American Wheelmen ; A. B. Cass, 
Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce; C. M. Gidney, 
Secretary of Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce; 
H. P. Wood, Secretary of San Diego Chamber of Com- 
merce; Frank Ey, member of City Council of Santa 
Ana; Gail Borden, Alhambra; Benjamin W. Hahn, 
Pasadena; Judge R. S. Blackstock, Ventura; W. M. 
Peck, Riverside; Stephen V. Kelley, San Bernardino. 

The convention was called to meet at Santa Barbara 
April 19th and 20th, 1904. A large and representative 
attendance of delegates from all parts of the Stace 
through which El Camino Real passes and also 
from the northern counties that would be affected by 
the new road were present. A State organization was 
effected that endorsed the original plan, approving 
State aid for building the road from San Diego to 
Sonoma and on to Siskyou. The following Executive 
Committee of eighteen members was elected, with 
power to elect one President, eight Vice-Presidents, 
one Treasurer, one Secretary and two Auditors : 

A. P. Fleming, Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes, Senator Joseph 
R. Knowland, Dr. Milbank Johnson, Rufus P. Jen- 
nings, Senator Benjamin W. Hahn, Charles F. Lum- 
mis, Mrs. Laura B. Powers, Gail Borden, W. A. 
Spalding, Walter R. Bacon, Mrs. Lillian Ferguson, 
Oscar C. Mueller, George Arnott, Judge J. T. Rich- 
ards, Frank Ey, AVilliam J. Variel, and Henry Wein- 
stock. 

Officers elected bv the committee to serve for the 



EL CAMINO REAL 273 

term of one year were : President, A. P. Fleming ; Vice- 
Presidents, W. R. Bacon, J. R. Knowland, Madame 
Caroline M. Severance, Dr. David Starr Jordan, Rt. 
Rev. Archbishop George Montgomery, Bishop Joseph 
H. Johnson, Dr. Benjamin Ide Wheeler and Mrs. John 
F. Swift. Treasurer, Oscar C. Mueller. Auditors, Mrs. 
A. S. C. Forbes and William J. Variel. Secretary, Mrs. 
Caroline R. Olney. The Secretary was empowered to 
organize Sections in the different counties through 
which El Camino Real passes. 

Sections were soon formed in Los Angeles, San 
Diego, Pasadena and Ventura. Little work, however, 
was accomplished except by Los Angeles Section, of 
which Dr. O. S. Barnum was President ; Col. J. B. 
Lankershim, Vice-President; Gen. Robert YVankowski, 
Treasurer, and Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes, Secretary. 

A committee on location was appointed by the State 
Association consisting of .Mrs. Forbes, chairman; Hon. 
R. F. Del Valle, Col. J. B. Lankershim, Rev. Juan 
Caballeria and Mr. O. W. Longdon. The same com- 
mittee was appointed by Los Angeles Section and 
both committees enlarged to include Rev. Fr. Rubio, 
Rev. Ubach, Dr. Edward Grove, Senator Joseph R. 
Knowland, Miss Eliza D. Keith and Rev. Fr. Slattery. 
Los Angeles Section had a report and map of all old 
roads in Los Angeles and Orange counties made by the 
Title Indemnity and Trust Company, now merged with 
the Title Guarantee and Trust Co. Further research 
was continued from San Diego to Sonoma and all work 
verified from time to time by church records, disenos 
of ranchos, and valuable information furnished by old 
Spanish families and pioneers, until now there is not 
nne mile of the old road that once joined the twenty- 



274 



EL CAMINO REAL 



one missions that has not been investigated and there 
is scarcely more than a rod in any one place where 
the road of today diverges from some path of the 
padres. Today El Camino Real is the main road of 
travel between the missions — as is shown by the gen- 
eral route as given in the preceding article on El 
Camino Real. 

Mr. A. P. Fleming continued as President of the 
Camino Real Association until 1912 when he was suc- 
ceeded by Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes, who served for one 
year, but declined re-election. She was succeeded by 
her husband, A. S. C. Forbes, who is the present in- 
cumbent. 




Bells on El Camino Real 



EL CAMINO REAL 275 

THE BELLS OF EL CAMINO REAL. 

"The}'- are the voice of the Past, 
Of an age that is fading fast, 
Of a power austere and grand, 
When the flag of Spain unfurled 
Its fold o'er the Western world 
And the priest was lord of the land." 

In 1906 it was decided by the executive board of 
Los Angeles Section of the Camino Real Association 
to mark the route of the Old Mission Road by a dis- 
tinctive, emblematic and appropriate guide-post. The 
design that was approved was drawn by Airs. A. S. C. 
Forbes of Los Angeles and is a Mission Bell sur- 
mounting a standard upon which is fastened a guide- 
board giving explicit directions to the traveler and 
information regarding the missions as stations along 
the way. A design patent and copyright was secured 
by Mrs. Forbes. 

In selecting the Bell as an appropriate marker for 
the road of the missions the fact was taken into con- 
sideration that at all times the padres first hung a 
bell that they might call attention to the work in hand, 
that of erecting and blessing the cross ; the Bell guide- 
posts were erected to call attention to the work in 
hand, that of reconstructing El Camino Real, the road 
of the missions. Iron was selected for the material 
from which to construct the bells for the reason that 
the entire proposition to reconstruct El Camino Real 
is one of emblematic sentiment and the iron is in- 
tended to represent the iron will of the men who made 
the first roads in California. The Bell guide-post is of 
plain, severe design to represent the simple, austere life 
led by these men of God. Brass or tinkling metal was 
intentionally not used, as the bell is intended as a 



276 



EL CAMINO REAL 




—Photo F. H. Taber 

First Bell Erected on El Camino Real at the Plaza Church, 
Los Angeles 



EL CAMINO REAL 277 

memorial tribute to the work and lives of the Fran- 
ciscan friars. The project of marking El Camino Real 
with the Mission Bell guide-post was placed in the 
hands of a committee composed of A. S. C. Forbes, 
chairman, Rev. Juan Caballeria and B. H. Cass. The 
first Bell was erected and dedicated August 15th, 1906, 
at the Plaza Church, Los Angeles, as a part of the 
festival to commemorate the feast of Nuestra Senora 
la Reina de Los Angeles. Clad in the picturesque old 
vestments that were worn by the fathers who officiated 
at the first mass when the City of the Angeles came 
into existence, the padres of the Plaza Church pre- 
sided ; first at High Mass in the church, and then at 
the dedicatory services in the court yard. Long be- 
fore the exercises commenced the large outer court 
belonging to the church was crowded and the Plaza 
opposite was a mass of interested spectators. As the 
strains of America floated out upon the air the fathers 
followed by all the officers of the church led the 
way to the court yard. Upon a platform especially 
erected for the purpose Rev. Juan Caballeria, rector 
of the Plaza Church, delivered the opening address, 
announcing the object of the occasion and the sig- 
nificance of the double celebration. At the conclusion 
the Bell was raised to its position and a salute fired by 
General Antonio Aguilar, one of the last of the valiant 
Spanish soldiers who defended the City of Los An- 
geles in early days. As the salute was heard the bells 
in all the Catholic churches of the city rang out a 
welcome to the Memorial Bell. 

One of the most impressive features of the dedica- 
tory exercise was the reading of the Records by A. S. 
C. Forbes. These were read first in Spanish, then in 



278 EL CAMINO REAL 

English, after which they were signed by the patrons 
and patronesses of the occasion, namely, Owen Mc- 
Aleer, Mayor of Los Angeles ; W. J. Washburn, Pres- 
ident of Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce ; C. E. 
Patterson, chairman of Los Angeles County Super- 
visors ; A. P. Fleming, President of the Camino Real 
Association of California ; Dr. O. S. Barnum, Presi- 
dent of Los Angeles Section of the Camino Real Asso- 
ciation ; A. S. C. Forbes, chairman of the Bell Com- 
mittee ; A. P. Griffith, chairman of the County Highway 
Commission ; William M . Garland, President of the 
Automobile Club ; Dr. Milbank Johnson, Past-Presi- 
dent of the Automobile Club ; Allen G. Hancock, James 
C. Kays, Mrs. Owen McAleer, Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes, 
Miss Guadalupe Dominguez, Mrs. O. C. Bryant, 
Madam Ida Hancock and Mrs. X. K. Potter. The 
Records inscribed in Spanish were added to the an- 
cient Records, under the direction of Fr. Caballeria. 

The bells proved an inspiration. After fifty-four had 
been erected south of Santa Barbara the work was 
extended north. Mrs. Alice Hare, chairman of Cali- 
fornia History and Landmarks for the San Francisco 
District of Women's Clubs, aroused interest among 
the clubwomen of the north, and they erected twenty- 
five bells. The Native Sons and Daughters responded 
in like manner to the call of the bell, and under the 
direction of Mrs. Emma W. Lillie Humphrey, then 
President of the Grand Parlor, and Miss Eliza D. 
Keith, chairman of California History and Landmarks 
for the Native Daughters, the work grew apace, with 
the result that twenty-four bells were erected during 
Mrs. Humphrey's term of office. 



EL CAMINO REAL 279 

In 1911 Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes was elected President 
of Los Angeles Section of the Camino Real Associa- 
tion. Under her direction the State Association was 
re-organized and the plan of section work was aban- 
doned. The reason for this was obvious. Only one 
section was active or ever had been, and that was Los 
Angeles. The name was changed to El Camino Real 
Association of California instead of the Camino Real 
Association. Dues were reduced from two dollars an- 
nually to one dollar, and several other changes made. 
Airs. Forbes was made President and served for one 
year. She was succeeded by her husband, Mr. A. S. C. 
Forbes, who had been the chairman of the Bell Com- 
mittee. Since the re-organization two hundred and 
fifty bells have been added to the list, making 400 bells. 
There is now a bell a mile along El Camino Real from 
San Diego to the southern boundary of Ventura 
County. In San Diego County there are seventy-five 
miles of the Mission road and there are seventy-five 
bells. The Supervisors gave fifty bells, the City Council 
of San Diego gave eighteen, and seven were donated 
by individuals. In Los Angeles County, where the 
greatest number of bells have been erected, the Super- 
visors have supplied forty, societies and clubs fourteen, 
El Camino Real Association twenty and individuals 
enough to make a total, at the present time, of one 
hundred and three. Orange County, one of the fore- 
most counties in good roads work and in the support 
of the Camino Real project, has erected ten bells, and 
the Supervisors have said that when the State High- 
way is finished the marking of the road by the bells 
will be completed. Santa Barbara has nineteen bells, 
thirteen of which have been given by the Supervisors. 



280 EL CAMINO REAL 

San Francisco has a bell a mile— ten. San Mateo and 
Alameda Counties have not quite a bell a mile, but the 
old road is well defined in these counties by this 
memorial tribute to the Spanish pioneers of California. 
Ventura County was one of the first to respond to the 
call of the bell. The club women, Pioneers, Native 
Sons and Daughters and individuals gave fourteen; 
San Bernardino County gave eighteen at the time 
of the celebration of the centenary of San Bernardino. 
A hundred years ago the thriving town of San Bernar- 
dino was but a Franciscan chapel, and as such was an 
asistencia or branch of Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. 
The road that joined the two was called Camino Real 
de San Bernardino, and was a link in the chain that 
joined the missions in the early Spanish days of Cali- 
fornia. 

The bells along the highway have two dates and the 
name El Camino Real cast upon them. The first date, 
1769, is the date of the founding of the first mission, 
and the second, 1906, is the date when the first bell 
was erected, and therefore marks the time when the 
reconstruction of the old road began. Each bell weighs 
over one hundred pounds and is raised eleven feet from 
the ground, on a substantial standard of iron tubing 
set in a concrete base. A small brass plate with the 
donor's name upon it is attached to the standard. 
There is also a sign which directs the traveler to the 
missions, where 
"Those bells of the past, whose long-forgotten music 

still fills the wide expanse, 
Tingeing the sober twilight of the Present with color 

of Romance." 



